Academy Star Awards 2009 - Student of the Year Finalists - Academy of READING 
This year's Academy Awards drew so many outstanding nominations that we added a Finalist category. Profiled below are the Student of the Year finalists in the Academy of READING category.
Continue below to read about the finalists in our category for students using Academy of READING.
Finalists
Adam, a student at St. Mark Elementary School, tested Below Basic on the Academy of READING pre-test.
Adam chose a peer as his competitor in the class and they both began training in the Academy of READING at level 2.0. They both worked hard to master the most skills in the class.
As an incentive for the students, stars were posted daily to represent the number of skills mastered. Adam and his co-partner would compare stars daily. While the number of stars would fluctuate between the two of them, they both reached 100 skills within the same week. I asked the principal to announce the two students who completed 100 skills in the Academy of READING. When they heard their names, they were so proud. Their faces just glowed with pride and amazement.
Adam’s competitor has since moved away, but Adam continues to work hard. He completed his training for third grade and moved from Below Basic to Advanced. I congratulated Adam, gave him a small gift and told him he didn’t have to come back to the Academy of READING. Adam said, “Mrs. Mazyck please let me come to the Academy. I like coming to this class.”
Adam is still in the Academy, presently working on fourth grade skills and strategies.
Submitted by: Mable R. Mazyck, St. Mark Elementary
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I am nominating Arisha for the Academy of READING Star Student Award. Arisha is a young lady in 6th grade that first experienced reading difficulties in the 2nd grade. Prior to this time her mother reports that she had been enjoying books and writing but stopped suddenly in the second grade. Arisha began complaining of headaches and did not want to go to school. A change of teachers brought about a little relief but she would still not read or write. By the end of her 5th grade year she was still experiencing reading difficulties of focus, decoding, memory, fluency, and expression through writing.
When Arisha began middle school this year she was recommended for The Academy of READING. Her pretest indicated that she was reading on a below basic 4th grade level. Her progress has been a little slower than some other students but she has shown awesome perseverance. No matter how many times she has had to repeat a tutorial, she has not let the repetitions bring her down. In fact they made her more determined to succeed. Arisha has learned to not only monitor her own reading but to analyze her mistakes and figure out where she needs to improve. Arisha’s post test indicated that she had improved her reading so well that she was reading on a proficient 7th grade level! An increase of 3 levels!
However, that improvement was not enough for Arisha. She recognized her growth but was not satisfied. She wanted to continue in the Academy of READING class for the next semester as well. This she has done and because of her determination not only to succeed but to be the best she can be her focus has increased as well as her reading. Her mother enthusiastically now exclaims how her daughter loves reading and reads at home without being told to do so. Arisha’s confidence and self-esteem has improved as her fluency, comprehension, retention, and vocabulary improved. The Academy of READING has helped Arisha when no other reading interventions were able to.
Submitted by: Elizabeth Allen , Reedy Creek Middle School
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It was in October when Brianna started the Academy of READING with a pre-test performance level of 3.0, which means she was reading at a below basic level for a 4th-grade student. Based on these results, she was assigned an Individualized Training Program. Early on, the repetition of the same activity discouraged her. Knowing that the AutoSkill program would be beneficial to her, we lowered the reading criteria temporarily, implemented a pay-off system (e.g., small prize for every bar that she met the standard and access to the treasure box for 10 trophies), increased reading AutoSkill time, and increased monitoring and feedback.
With the strategies in place, Brianna started to develop interest in completing the task. Her motivation increased as she competed against herself. She made sure that her current score was higher than previous grades. As we increased the criteria, Brianna was able to handle more difficult reading skills and at the same time firming basic skills that needed to be mastered. With her desire to beat her own scores, Brianna felt very successful. The ability to access and find out her scores fascinated Brianna. She constantly returns and checks how much progress she has made and that gives her smile on her face. Currently, Brianna completes Academy of READING cheerfully and with enthusiasm.
Brianna was post-tested in March 2009. She had moved to Proficient level after training for 5 hours 56 minutes and completing 18 skills on the Academy of READING. With an end of year level of 5.0, Brianna demonstrated an increase of 2.0 levels. She finished 59% of her prescribed program mastering 100% of the skills at the prescribed mastery criteria.
Submitted by: Patricia S. Beard , Salyers Elementary School
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Chelsea is an 11th grade student at Mercer County Career Center and is enrolled in our Protective Services program. Chelsea was pre-tested in September 2008 in the Academy of READING program and scored a level 5.0 (below basic). She started her training in January 2009. Since the very first day of class, Chelsea has demonstrated a positive attitude about participating in the program and has always been very conscientious. Chelsea had shared with me that she was struggling with the amount of reading that is a big part of the Protective Service curriculum.
Near the end of her training in the Academy of READING program, Chelsea was noticing a big difference in her reading skills. She was sounding out words better when she was reading and also reading much faster. She wasn’t nearly as frustrated as she had been. Her ability to read better was helping her tremendously with the coursework in Protective Services and she felt very confident that she would do much better on her testing. She also stated that she was noticing a difference in her reading in her academic classes where her English grade has been steadily increasing. In April, Chelsea was post-tested and scored a level 9.0 (basic). Chelsea had made a four-year increase in her reading level. Chelsea grinned from ear to ear when she saw her results. The test score had confirmed what she already knew. She had gone from a below basic reader to a nearly proficient reader. Chelsea says she truly feels that the Academy of READING program has made a difference in her confidence and her life.
Submitted by: Nancy Brooks , Mercer County Career Center
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I would like to nominate Conner Kaljuvee for the Academy Star Student of the Year for the Academy of READING Program. He is currently in grade five and has never used the program before. Staff were hesitant in having him use the program because Conner has had difficulty with timed activities in the past. He presented with difficulty focusing, was easily frustrated, and had a low self-confidence; often saying things like "I can’t do this". He was also hesitant to try new tasks and rarely came out of his comfort zone. Conner’s only interest in the computer was in games.
Initially, Conner required constant supervision while using the program and close guidance. With time, Conner has been extremely successful with the program. He is very motivated and excited to use the program. He has had incredible success in math and language and has become very goal-oriented. So far this year, Connor has finished 54% of his prescribed Academy of READING program with 97% accuracy.
Submitted by: Marie Pearen , Eagle Ridge Public School
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Devean came to us at the beginning of this year, and I was told he was a non-reader. His educational history indicated that he had already changed school five times since kindergarten.In August, he scored a 0.0 GE on the Academy of READING pretest. After I realized he could read a little, I retested him a few weeks later on September 19. He scored 1.0 GE then and a 2.0 GE at the mid-year testing in December.
I wanted to administer his post test early so I could nominate him for this award; and on April 30, Devean scored 4.0 GE. Later that day I set up the post testing for all of the students to take and accidentally included Devean again. When he came in at his regular time, I told him he didn’t need to take the test again but he insisted. He scored 5.0 GE.
Devean has blossomed in so many ways this year. His confidence has escalated, and his classroom teacher has spoken about having him tested for the gifted program.
We are so very proud of Devean and feel the Academy of READING has been an important part of the overall program that has turned Devean’s academic career around.
Submitted by: Lydia Freyburger , Central Elemantary School
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As one of the site coordinators for the AutoSkill program at Santa Paula High School, I have had the privilege of working with students with reading difficulties and have had the opportunity to watch them learn and improve their reading skills using the AutoSkill Academy of READING Program. One such student is Gabriel. Gabriel has made significant gains in his decoding, identification, and comprehension skills.
More importantly, his attitude toward reading has changed due to his recent reading success. Gabriel was a perfect example of a student who did not want to acknowledge or accept that he was reading below grade level. With encouragement, direct instruction, and the tiered assignments provided through the AutoSkill program, Gabriel sharpened his skills, overcame his difficulties, and found pride in his accomplishments.
Submitted by: Kelley Payne ,
Santa Paula High School
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Janel is an 8th grade student that has made two years' growth this year on Academy of READING. She has come in before school, and used her free time to train. We started the program as a class in September 2008, and she scored at the 4.0 level on the pre-test. After training for four months, she mastered her skills and scored at a 6.0 level when she took the post-test. Janel is very motivated with reading and regularly checks out books from the media center and the public library. I am extremely proud of Janel and am honored to nominate her as Academy Star of the Year.
Submitted by: Michelle Hughes , Carrington Middle School
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I would like to nominate Micheal, a student that has really improved in spite of recent tragic events in his family.
Micheal recently graduated from the Academy of READING. While he pre-tested at below basic, he scored advanced on his post-test, so he has really improved. Also, he got commended on his reading TAKS test, and was the star student of the month. I am so proud of Micheal and that's why I nominate him.
Submitted by: Sabrina Williams, Winship Elementary
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Terrance comes to Academy of READING every day for 30 minutes and is prepared to work. Even though the Academy is at the last 30 minutes of every day, he stays on task and I never have to speak to him about his behavior while in the Academy. Every month, the students have to master eight skills or more to receive a special treat for lunch. Any take-out food that the students want for lunch we bring into the school for lunch the last day of the month. The student who has mastered the most skills gets to choose the special lunch.
Terrance has had this privilege many times. Every lunch treat that we have had, Terrance has made it and has been able to enjoy the lunch because he has worked so hard in the Academy. At the end of the school year, students who reached the goal set for them, are taken on a field trip for a day eat lunch in a very nice restaurant, and go on a carriage ride in downtown Charleston. Terrance will be one of those students.
Terrance is a struggling reader, but the Academy of READING has helped his classroom progress, and improved his MAP test score by 11 points on the first test. I am positive that Terrance will do well on the PASS test as well. Terrance is a positive role model for the other students who are in Academy of READING by setting a great example.
Submitted by: Crissy Dillahey , Chicora Elementary School
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Travon is a 5th grade Academy of READING student. In August, Travon was reading at a Below Basic performance level for a grade five student, with a 0.0 level. At the beginning of his program, Travon was struggling with sound match and auditory visual match. I believe if a child repeatedly struggles and fails, it can lead to low self esteem and sadness. I spoke to the Academy and the classroom teacher and the three of us came up with plans to help Travon.
The Academy teacher used his actual student responses from the error list to try to help him understand what type of errors he was making and to check the pattern of errors. After using some of the auditory-visual worksheets, Travon had started to show some mastery by October. When he saw that he could make gains in reading his self-esteem improved dramatically. He is grasping the information and even using it in his classroom.
When post-tested in April, Travon had moved to Basic after training for 16 hours 40 minutes and completing 44 skills. He tested at a level of 5.0, an increase of 5.0 levels. Presently, Trevon has finished 61 % of his prescribed program mastering 100% of the skills at the prescribed mastery criteria. Travon is the only student that has increased by 5.0 levels in reading. He is a happier child and feels successful.
Submitted by: Cassandra Pressley, Kingstree Elementary School
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I’ve had the pleasure of tutoring Hao in the Academy of Reading since October. Hao is Chinese, and it is difficult for him to pronounce many of the phonemic patterns. He only hears Chinese spoken when at home. These obstacles might prevent another child from investing the effort needed to overcome the language issues to read, but Hao is no quitter.
Hao came to my class very shy, but with a big smile. His pretest score was at a below basic, 0.0 reading level. Hao was encouraged to seek my help when not sure of reading directions, but most often he only wants to be pointed in the right direction. He elects to work on his own until he can master the exercise. Watching Hao from a distance is inspiring - his tenacity, diligence, and hard work get him through.
Hao works hard, without complaining, and with that same big smile. Often I will send the children back to their rooms saying next time you’ll master whatever they are working on, and Hao always turns to me and says “Ok, I’ll do it next time Mrs. Ferebee”. And he does.
Hao took his interim test in March this time scoring basic, grade level 2.0. In only four months Hao managed to jump two grade levels. Take AutoSkill, hard work, persistence, dedication, and you get success. That’s Hao!
Submitted by: Di Anna Ferebee, Beneke Elementary
Continue reading about our Academy of MATH finalists and Academy of READING and Academy of MATH finalists.
