Soaring to Success!

Bowen came to Thornwell in Spring as a 3rd grader but only read at a kindergarten to a low first-grade reading level. Years of bouncing from home to home and city to city had left him behind in school. He felt embarrassed to read out loud in class and would often sink into his chair, hoping his teacher would not notice him.

However, his teacher DID notice that Bowen was creative and bright! He loved superheroes and could easily remember their names, sidekicks, and origin stories. That gave her an idea! What if superhero stories could help Bowen with his reading? Soon, he was enrolled in Thornwell’s Read Right program.

Bowen worked virtually over the summer with his Read Right tutor. Together, they worked to understand the meaning behind what he was reading, not just focusing on single words. He began to see the superhero stories on the page “come to life” while they remodeled Bowen’s approach to reading. When Bowen returned to school in the Fall, he took his MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) test. His reading comprehension had vaulted to a 4th-grade level. This rapid gain placed him in the top 1% nationwide for growth in reading!

Because you believe all children deserve a bright future through academic success, Bowen is making incredible progress! Thank you for being a superhero to Bowen and the Read Right program.

Summer Intensive 2022

After 6 to 8 weeks of Read Right tutoring, the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR) for participating students showed:

• An average grade equivalent gain of an entire school year

• An average national percentile rank gain of 8.1%

The MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) showed an average point gain of 9.5.

Note: For middle and high school students nationwide, the MAP mean gain for an entire year is less than 4 points.