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A team-based reading strategy at Hollin Meadows Elementary School has increased the share of students reading at grade level by 10%, helping some third graders move from high-risk scores to meeting or exceeding expectations.

Known as Walk to Read, the approach brings classroom teachers, reading specialists, and other staff members together to give students targeted instruction beyond the core language arts block.

During a daily intervention period, students move to different classrooms and work in small groups organized around their current reading skills. Each educator can concentrate on a particular group and skill, rather than leaving one classroom teacher to address a wide range of needs alone.

Reading specialist Andrea Ullmann said classroom teachers could not provide that level of individualized support by themselves. Additional educators make it possible to divide the work and offer more focused lessons.

Student data guide the program. Educators regularly review results and move children into different groups as their skills and needs change.

One student said the smaller-group instruction helped her work through difficult material. Her teacher showed her how to sound out words and taught her new techniques, making reading feel much easier.

Teachers have also noticed students’ eagerness to participate, joking that the program could be called “Run to Read” because children hurry out of their classrooms to reach their groups.

The initiative supports Fairfax County Public Schools’ goal of having every student read at grade level by the end of third grade, a priority in its 2023-2030 strategic plan. A video about the work was presented to the Fairfax County School Board on March 19.