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May, 2022

WELCOME KAMYE!

We are delighted to welcome our new Training and Coaching Manager, Kamye Hugley. Kamye is a former Miami Head Start teacher who began her journey with SEEDS in 2019 by attending our 3-5 Train-the-Trainer program. Kamye will be managing trainings to ensure fidelity to the SEEDS model and uphold our standards of providing an inclusive and equitable culture within our organization and between ourselves and partners. Kamye holds a Master of Science in Reading from Barry University and has a special interest in anti-racist instructional practices to transform our education systems. In her free time Kamye enjoys working out, trying new foods, and is a self-confessed bookworm.
NORTH DAKOTA TRAINING

Our April calendar contained something a little unusual – North Dakota Coaching-Training Session In-Person….wait, what? After 2+ years of virtual-only trainings here was hope, and afterward Tempestt was literally skipping for joy Check out our Instagram page for a visual @fluentseeds_cares, and don’t forget to follow us while you are there!
SEEDS IN OAKLAND

In the Spring of 2021, FluentSeeds, The Oakland Reach, and OUSD partnered to recruit and train 15 tutors called Literacy Liberators, comprised of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other family members who have children in OUSD schools. Each member of this community shares a fierce desire to realize equal opportunity for all children through literacy and learning opportunities.

FluentSeeds provided instruction in early literacy foundational skills through our SEEDS of Learning frameworks, including the knowledge, model, and practice of pulling together small groups to give TK-2 students high-dosage tutoring in a virtual setting. Additionally, our coaches helped answer questions like, “How would we know how to get the students on Zoom?” “How would the groups be formed?” “What would the placement tests look like?” The Oakland Reach hired family liaisons to call and talk with families, listen to their individual stories, and help navigate the school system.

250 K-2 students enrolled in OUSD’s Sojourner Truth virtual school and attended daily lessons with the Literacy Liberators. FluentSeeds and LL’s worked together to help kids master foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, blending, and sight words. This team met for an hour every Friday to discuss successes and challenges and brainstorm further resources or outside support. An integral step in the process is gathering and analyzing data, so the LL’s carried out progress monitoring, gave mastery tests, and recorded attendance and growth. FluentSeeds coaches examined the data to determine the best protocol to get students on track to reading at grade level. Great emphasis was placed on structuring lessons that would be clear, concise, relevant, and continue to motivate students.
This consistent, strategic programming accelerated learning for every student – including those who began behind grade level. Students who attended at least 50% of the sessions, three days/week, mastered 18 weeks of reading lessons in just ten weeks.

A BUSY SUMMER
Due to the success of this pilot program, OUSD will place 100-150 SEEDS-trained Literacy Liberators in classrooms this fall. Training for that group begins in June, concurrent with SEEDS coaching and training 33 tutors at all Springboard summer learning sites for OUSD. The benefits of this summer program include continuity in established tutor/student relationships and guaranteed income that makes tutors more likely to return in the fall, thereby addressing the school district’s chronic staffing shortages.

FluentSeeds is proud of the progress we’ve made in ensuring kindergarten-readiness for children in Oakland and throughout the United States. We are equally honored to partner with new and established partners who share our vision of a nation where every child is a fluent reader with the power to reach their full potential.
Thanks to our OUSD and Oakland Reach partners for a wonderful school year!

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