Success for All

Success for All (SFA) is a whole-school reform model for students in prekindergarten through grade 8 that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports. The literacy program emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for all students. Teachers provide reading instruction to students grouped by reading ability for 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Students in prekindergarten through first grade participate in Reading Roots, and students in second grade and above participate in Reading Wings. In both programs, students are grouped into reading classes of 15-20 students with others of similar reading ability regardless of age or grade level. Teachers begin the period by reading children's storybooks aloud, then discuss with students to enhance understanding. In kindergarten and first grade, teachers emphasize developing language skills using phonetic storybooks and instruction focusing on phonemic awareness, auditory discrimination, and sound blending. In second through fifth grades, teachers use school- or district-provided reading materials in structured interactive activities where students read, discuss, and write about books, emphasizing cooperative learning activities built around partner reading. Certified teachers or paraprofessionals provide daily tutoring to students who have difficulty reading at the same level as their classmates. The program includes quarterly assessments, a social-emotional development program, computer-assisted tutoring tools, family support teams, a facilitator who works with school personnel, and extensive training for all intervention teachers. School staff in their first year receive 3-day summer training and 12 additional on-site support days during the school year, with developer-provided trainers visiting and observing teachers monthly in the first year and less often thereafter.