Congratulations Brayden D. on being named Read Naturally's October Star of the Month. Brayden is a second grade student at C.W. Shipley Elementary School in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He was nominated by his teacher, Ms. Szemborski, for his hard work and determination using Read Naturally's small group instruction program GATE. Here is what Ms. Szemborski had to say about Brayden.

Brayden D. is a highly motivated student who receives RTI reading intervention twice daily. Brayden suffered a concussion in first grade and had some learning difficulties throughout the year. His teacher and parents thought it would be best if he repeated first grade and receive intervention. In 2015, Brayden enrolled as a C.W. Shipley student to repeat first grade and began intervention services immediately. He worked very hard and eventually was able to be released from RTI services. However, Brayden was found eligible again at the beginning of second grade in 2016 to receive RTI reading intervention service at the targeted and intensive levels due to scoring 10% on the STAR Reading test.

As Brayden's RTI teacher, I was fortunate to receive a grant last year that allowed me to purchase the Read Naturally GATE program. Currently, I am using the level 1.3 with the second graders in my small group. Brayden's cold reads have averaged 60 words per minute. His HOT reads show an improvement of approximately 20 words per minute weekly. Brayden is consistently scoring a 100% on the word list, spelling, and comprehension questions. Since beginning the Read Naturally GATE program, Brayden has improved his STAR progress monitoring scores to  48% and 60% at the second grade level. He is reading with more expression and at a better rate, as well as gaining in comprehension skills. Brayden is well on his way to success thanks to this program. 

The Read Naturally Star Student of the Month program is designed to celebrate students who work hard to improve their reading skills. Each month, we select one student to feature in our newsletter. The selected student wins a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card, and the school or teacher who nominated that student receives a $200 gift certificate for Read Naturally materials.

If you entered the drawing and your student did not win this month, he or she will remain in the selection pool for future months! 

To nominate your deserving student, visit the entry form.

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