Supporting Early Readers

RACHEL COMLY, Research For ActionRYAN FINK, Consortium for Policy Research in EducationMONICA MIELKE, Research For ActionADRIANNE FLACK, Consortium for Policy Research in EducationTo learn more about PERC, visit www.phledresearch.org.July 2018SUPPORTING EARLY READERSA Scan of K-3 Literacy Practices in Philadelphia Charter SchoolsYoung Readers and Writers: A Research Series on Supporting Early Literacy Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the intellectual contributions of Ruth Curran Neild, the Director of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium, and Abigail Gray, Senior Researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, throughout the research and writing process. At Research for Action, Katie Carter provided helpful feedback on drafts. Megan Morris created the report design and graphics. The authors are also grateful for the insights of charter stakeholders. Philadelphia School Partnership provided feedback and survey data, which helped us to frame our interview questions and understand the landscape of charter school literacy instruction. DawnLynne Kacer from the Charter School Office of the School District of Philadelphia also provided context. Jenny Bogoni, Nancy Scharff, and Lori Severino from Read by 4th, and Laurada Byers, founder of Russell Byers Charter School, provided helpful feedback about interview questions prior to the study. The William Penn Foundation provided funding for this work as part of its goal of supporting early literacy in Philadelphia. The foundation did not exercise editorial control over this report, and the contents of the report do not necessarily reflect their views. About PERC The mission of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium is to provide timely, actionable, rigorous, and non-partisan research on the most pressing issues facing Philadelphia public education. To do this, PERC seeks to engage the region’s colleges and universities, nonprofits, and the Philadelphia public education sector, both charter and non-charter, in respectful, mutually beneficial research-practice partnerships. By providing Philadelphia’s leaders and citizenry with high-quality information about progress, challenges, and effective strategies in education, PERC aims to increase education opportunities and achievement for all Philadelphia students. PERC is an initiative of Research for Action, a nonprofit education research organization based in Philadelphia. About CPRE The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, conducts rigorous program evaluation and research studies using qualitative and quantitative methods, advanced survey techniques, and data analysis. CPRE consists of a broad network of leading experts in education, economics, public policy, sociology, and other social fields. This network of premier researchers is committed to advancing educational policy and practice through evidence-based research. Research conducted by CPRE is peer-reviewed and open access. You can access CPRE research via our Scholarly Commons repository at http://bit.ly/CPREpubs. ii | Supporting Early Readers Suggested Citation APA STYLE: Comly, R., Fink, R., Mielke, M., & Flack A. (2018). Supporting early readers: A scan of K-3 literacy practices in Philadelphia charter schools. Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium. CHICAGO STYLE: Comly, Rachel, Fink, Ryan, Mielke, Monica, and Adrianne Flack. (2018). Supporting Early Readers: A Scan of K-3 Literacy Practices in Philadelphia Charter Schools. Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium. Supporting Early Readers: A Scan of K-3 Literacy Practices in Philadelphia Charter Schools Rachel Comly, Ryan Fink, Monica Mielke, and Adrianne Flack • July 2018 Summary In Philadelphia, civic and education leaders have identified early literacy programming as critical for overall education improvement. Charter schools enroll about one third of all public school students in Philadelphia. This study seeks to understand how Philadelphia charter schools support their early readers and writers, in order to contribute to knowledge-sharing across schools and identify areas for investment. Researchers invited Philadelphia charter schools and charter management organizations serving kindergarten to third grade students to identify a single representative to participate in a 30-minute interview. We interviewed 38 school representatives and charter management organization (CMO) leaders about K-3 literacy practices in their school(s). We asked these school representatives to describe their literacy programming, the strengths and challenges of their chosen program, and the additional resources that would most help their school’s literacy program. These representatives may not have listed all of their literacy practices within the interviews, and the interviews do not provide f