In this interview, Naina Gonsalves, the AmeriCorps & Special Programs Director at Austin Achieve, an open enrollment public charter in Austin, Texas, shares why SIPPS is their intervention of choice for students in grades 3–12.
“SIPPS has absolutely been a game changer for us,” she says. “Since the AmeriCorps members at Austin Achieve provide essential small-group literacy instruction to upper grade levels, having a research-based program we trust has made such a difference.”
Tell us a little about yourself, your school district, and the students you serve.
I have been teaching for 15 years and have been with my current school district, Austin Achieve, for the past ten years.
During my time teaching I have taught social studies, humanities, ELA, reading intervention, and emergent bilingual intervention. I have also served as an instructional coach.
I currently teach reading intervention and run our AmeriCorps program. Austin Achieve AmeriCorps has 20 members who support all of our campuses by providing additional small-group literacy support for grades 3–12.
My school district consists of two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. All of our campuses are Title 1 and we serve 2,741 students. Our AmeriCorps program serves about 350 students across these campuses in grades 3–12.
What is the most rewarding part of being an educator for you?
Working with students is always the most rewarding part of being an educator for me. Teaching them each day and getting to learn from them and see them grow over the years is amazing.
How did Austin Achieve become interested in SIPPS?
When we first started our AmeriCorps program at Austin Achieve, the reading curriculum we used was very focused on comprehension.
However, the more we worked with our students, the more we recognized there was also a great need for foundational skills support.
[T]he more we worked with our students, the more we recognized there was also a great need for foundational skills support.
I started to research reading intervention programs for grades 3–12 and was lucky enough to find SIPPS.
How long has your district been implementing SIPPS? Tell us a little about the implementation.
This is our district’s second year implementing SIPPS through our AmeriCorps program.
Each year we have used SIPPS we have participated in professional learning through Collaborative Classroom, which has been invaluable.
Since our AmeriCorps members for the most part do not have backgrounds in education, having extra training on how to implement the program has been a huge help.
It also has been very nice for me to have contacts at Collaborative Classroom to reach out to with questions and to brainstorm ideas with as we continue to improve our implementation.
What do you appreciate about SIPPS? What do your AmeriCorps members appreciate about it?
I love that SIPPS is developmentally appropriate for older students.
Knowing that our students have gaps in foundational skills, I had previously struggled with the best ways to close those gaps in ways that felt appropriate for our middle and high school students.
I love that SIPPS is developmentally appropriate for older students.
We have seen so much growth in our students since we began our implementation of SIPPS.
Our AmeriCorps members really appreciate how scripted the curriculum is. They also appreciate that it is clear what they need to do. As I said earlier, most members don’t have backgrounds in education, so having that support has been incredibly helpful.
What have you noticed about students’ learning and engagement? What have teachers at Austin Achieve noticed?
With SIPPS, students quickly start to feel more successful in their reading, which leads to more engagement. Students begin to feel more comfortable with the systems and the SIPPS routines and really start to excel.
Teachers have noticed an improvement in students’ decoding, and we have seen improvement on other assessments by students receiving SIPPS instruction.
What have you observed about the alignment of SIPPS with the science of reading?
I think SIPPS is very aligned with the science of reading. It implements all of the elements I would want to see in a literacy program, and the curriculum is systematic, sequential, and cumulative.
[SIPPS] implements all of the elements I would want to see in a literacy program, and the curriculum is systematic, sequential, and cumulative.
As a district, we have shifted to a more structured literacy approach, and SIPPS really compliments that.
What thoughts or insights would you share with a school or district that is considering SIPPS?
SIPPS has absolutely been a game changer for us.
Since the AmeriCorps members at Austin Achieve provide essential small-group literacy instruction to upper grade levels, having a research-based program we trust has made such a difference.
Since the AmeriCorps members at Austin Achieve provide essential small-group literacy instruction to upper grade levels, having a research-based program we trust has made such a difference.
For any district thinking of implementing SIPPS I would strongly encourage them to try the program and see. We have really benefited from the addition of SIPPS to our instruction!
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SIPPS Tutoring Success in Texas: An Interview with Literacy Now
Ravenswood Classroom Partners: A Success Story in Tutoring
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