During the 2018-19 school year, a group of teachers and administrators piloted a few literacy programs. After a number of meetings, the group decided to move forward with Fountas & Pinnell Classroom as our primary resource for literacy instruction.   This platform is aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The classroom teachers teach the following lessons every day: Interactive Read Aloud, Reading Minilesson and a Phonics/Word Study lesson.  The Interactive Read Aloud focuses on reading quality literature and developing comprehension skills. The Reading Minilesson teaches procedural, literary analysis, skills and strategies and writing about reading lessons. The Phonics/Word Study lessons teach a variety of foundational skills and strategies at each grade level. The teachers also provide daily small-group guided reading instruction, individual conferencing and facilitated literature discussion groups. The teachers follow Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study for writing lessons during their writing block. The goals of FPC are to develop children into literate members of a learning community, with a strong foundation of literacy skills that will take them well into their futures. The classroom teachers meet weekly and plan the lessons together so that there is a high level of coherence between the classrooms. All K-5 students are taught the same lessons and have common learning experiences through FPC.  So far, teachers have reported that the FPC lessons are very comprehensive and the students are responding well to the instruction. There are powerful discussions every day, where the students “turn and talk” to a neighbor around the comprehension questions. The students are also developing deep comprehension skills and strategies, laying the foundation for a future success in and out of the classroom.

This year, Edgerton's eighth-grade students have examined the Holocaust and World War II through the study of literature, history, math and science. Students were able to synthesize their knowledge in a culminating gallery, where they presented artifacts of their learning. These included tri-folds, essays, commemorative stamps, poetry and illustrated writing. Students have also participated in a field trip to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois. The cost of this field trip was offset by a generous contribution from Edgerton Gifts for Kids. We are incredibly grateful for this support!