Lowndes County Schools Adopts Digital Tool for Reading Interventions

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 11/16/15

Mississippi's Lowndes County School District is adopting a digital reading intervention tool in an effort to better prepare students for reading assessments newly mandated for students in grade 3.

Mississippi has recently passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, which requires all students to take the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment, also known as the "third-grade gate," to be promoted to grade four, with a few exceptions. To help prepare students for the assessment, Lowndes County SD has adopted Fast ForWord from Scientific Learning.

"We were looking for a research-based program that would allow us to take a different approach with students who haven't responded to other interventions," said Assistant Superintendent Robin Ballard in a prepared statement. "Our goal with the Fast ForWord program is to give teachers an effective tool they can use to close achievement gaps."

"Lowndes County School District will implement the Fast ForWord program this fall in eight schools across the Caledonia, New Hope and West Lowndes campuses," according to a news release. "The online program will be targeted to struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade, including English language learners (ELLs) and students receiving special education services. It will also be used with struggling students in grades 4–12 as needed."

"What we like about the Fast ForWord program is that it works to address the root cause of students' difficulties," added Ballard. "It helps their brains to process more efficiently while building critical reading skills, which will not only benefit them in reading but in other content areas as well."