Lisa Olmstead is currently a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) grade 3–8 Reading Intervention with the ‘WINN SIPPS’ program in Saint Paul Public Schools, supporting the delivery and implementation of SIPPS.
Saint Paul Public Schools is one of the largest and most diverse districts in the state of Minnesota. It has a rich history of students and families with diverse backgrounds and experiences, languages, cultures, and identities.
The WINN (What I Need Now) SIPPS program provides foundational reading skills instruction to general education students who have shown a need for a “second scoop” of reading instruction. Students are identified as potential candidates for WINN SIPPS first through a universal screener. If a student shows a high need for reading assistance, that is followed up with the SIPPS Placement Assessment diagnostic to discern if SIPPS is the correct support.
What is the most rewarding part of being an educator for you? What do you especially enjoy about your current role?
Hands down, the most rewarding part of being an educator is having a role in the growth and confidence of my students, from imparting critical knowledge and skills to honoring who they are and all they bring to the classroom.
My current role brings me into the classroom to work alongside teachers and their students and provides an opportunity to work 1:1 and in cohorts with teachers. What I love and strive to do is fully support educators in helping students learn to read. This means collaborating with teachers and sharing an equity-based, growth-focused, and joy-filled outlook.
How did your school/district first become interested in SIPPS?
Our Elementary Assistant Director, Sue Braithwaite, shared this background:
“Returning to school after COVID, we noticed a significant gap in teaching. Upon reviewing our literacy data, it became clear that middle school students required more foundational skills instruction. After careful consideration, we discovered that SIPPS was the ideal solution. It is age-appropriate and includes a placement test that effectively identifies students who need this type of support.”
How long has your school/district been implementing SIPPS? Tell us a little about the implementation.
This is our fourth year implementing SIPPS. Our implementation began with only middle school; one teacher per building in each of the fifteen schools (adding Online Middle School in year two). All of the teachers and I had a majority of middle school experiences. While some of us had reading licenses, almost none had training in the science of reading.
Monthly professional learning with a SIPPS facilitator and monthly classroom visits followed 1:1s. We are proof positive that SIPPS is educative! We all learned a massive amount from jumping into small group instruction and learning alongside our students, each other, and, of course, from our stellar SIPPS facilitator.
This is the District’s fourth year of using SIPPS. What are you noticing as your implementation has matured?
The word that enters my mind as we enter our fourth year of implementation is growth. As educators, we have grown our skills, our knowledge, and our confidence in delivering and fully implementing SIPPS. We better understand instructional decision-making and have honed our practices. Our students have grown tremendously in their reading and individual reading skills, with some students passing our state-wide assessment after completing SIPPS Challenge!
Students have also grown in their understanding of how we learn to read—often a critical piece, especially with our older students. Our program has also grown. We began with fifteen middle schools, adding one more middle plus thirteen elementary schools in the second year. Eleven more elementary schools joined the third year, and, with the addition of another sixteen elementary buildings this year, every middle and elementary school in Saint Paul Public Schools now has at least one full-time SIPPS teacher.
What do you appreciate about SIPPS? What do teachers appreciate about it?
I most appreciate the opportunity to pinpoint the reading needs of students via the Placement Assessment. This is a game-changer and allows for targeted instruction so that each student receives the instruction they need most.
Teachers learn to appreciate the explicit and systematic nature of the work of SIPPS because they actually see it changing a student’s life trajectory. More than one teacher has shared how rewarding it is to engage in this work and see the growth of students in and out of the SIPPS classroom.
What have you noticed about students’ learning and engagement? What have teachers noticed?
I am so fortunate my role allows me to observe dozens of lessons every month. It’s clear that students stay engaged in the work when routines are followed using the precise language of the lesson and corrective feedback is shared. They know how each routine starts, they know the moves inside of the routine and they know why another try is required. And … they follow through.
Teachers notice in time that engagement stays high when the work is delivered as intended. Our teachers share the reasoning behind some of the words, spelling sounds, or practices when older students question the procedure. As teaching cohorts, we’ve leaned into more research and texts so that our understanding is solid and can be shared readily with students.
How has SIPPS shifted teaching practices and/or professional learning in your school/district?
Our teaching practices and professional learning have both shifted. There is a learning curve working with a curriculum that is explicit in language and teaching practices. It takes time to understand the nuance of not only the actual practices but the reasoning behind each practice. Teachers who have utilized SIPPS for some time have shared that it was difficult to trust the research behind the practices until they had lived with it long enough to see the “why” in real-time as students showed understanding and progress.
Our professional learning includes monthly in-person sessions, monthly class visits, and 1:1s. Provisioning time for colleagues to learn together regularly and frequently has been a powerful element of our implementation. Monthly sessions have a component that includes a SIPPS-facilitated session along with a variety of components that are built to be responsive to teacher wants and needs.
Are there specific examples?
Examples include self-directed learning on topics such as dyslexia or the science of learning. Other components might include data analysis, instructional decision-making, and time for in-depth consideration of practices and routines. We also have a lesson study arc over three monthly sessions. The first session includes visiting a classroom for the “big picture” of a SIPPS small group, the second has one educator sharing a video and coaching conversation with our SIPPS facilitator and, finally, in the third session, each educator shares a recording of themselves with a small group to discuss and reflect.
Another shift in our professional learning has been the advent of educators hosting visits for each other, particularly teachers who are new to SIPPS. Practitioners have found this to be highly beneficial to their growth and understanding of the program and with greater numbers of seasoned SIPPS professionals in Saint Paul Public Schools, it becomes more and more possible.
Our monthly class visits and 1:1 feedback loops are a way to move the needle on observations and allow educators the opportunity to become comfortable with another adult in their space while supporting the learning process as educators continually build skill sets.
What thoughts or insights would you share with a school or district that is considering SIPPS?
We have found several things to be important to our SIPPS implementation in Saint Paul Public Schools:
- Frequent professional learning in line with the needs of educators
- Opportunities for SIPPS teachers to collaborate with one another
- A feedback loop so that educators are set up for success
- Live in-class visits for educators (especially those new to SIPPS) to see lessons in action
- Flexibility! Honoring and understanding the needs of our school cultures provides space for SIPPS to thrive.
As SIPPS thrives, so do our educators. They have become leaders of the work in their buildings and across our district.
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Related Reading
SIPPS and a Walk to Read Model in Pedley Elementary