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A2i is expanding to thirty MECK Pre-K classrooms in the coming school year after successfully piloting ten classrooms during the 2022-23 school year.
A2i was developed by Dr. Carol Connor, whose vision was "prescription medicine for literacy." It offers a revolutionary approach to identifying individual reading needs and tailoring instruction for every child in the classroom and is now primed to benefit even more young learners.
The platform was developed over 20 years with the support of a series of grants from the federal government. Multiple experimental studies repeatedly demonstrated that schools using A2i could accelerate gains in literacy during the crucial early elementary grades for all students, including high-need students, children living in poverty, English learners, and children receiving special education services.
A2i (Assessment to Instruction) is an evidence-based platform designed to help teachers and instructional coaches make data-informed decisions about how to use their existing curriculum and instructional time to meet each child’s individual needs in regard to literacy learning. A2i is designed to support educators to help children across the spectrum – from students who are just beginning to build their pre-reading skills to those who are more advanced.
“Read Charlotte tracked Dr. Connor’s research and development of A2i since 2017,” explains Read Charlotte Executive Director Munro Richardson. “We consider it one of the most promising, high-impact solutions we’ve seen for improving early literacy outcomes. Much of the work completed to date focused on use in K-3 classrooms. We’re excited to partner with Smart Start and MECK Pre-K to learn what A2i can do for Pre-K teachers and their students.”
Staff from Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, MECK Pre-K (a program administered by Smart Start of Mecklenburg County), and Read Charlotte began meeting in January of 2022 to discuss the ground-breaking research behind A2i and how it could support MECK Pre-K to implement the Science of Reading Instruction. (Click here to Read Charlotte’s summary of these cutting-edge findings.)
“This is such an amazing opportunity for MECK Pre-K—to be in on groundbreaking research on how A2i can enhance literacy instruction in the pre-k year,” asserts Mary-Margaret Kantor, MECK Pre-K Chief Early Education Officer. “As a teacher, I would have appreciated having a tool like this—one that can so specifically hone in on individual children’s needs and then pinpoint exactly where in the curriculum to go for the most meaningful instructional activities. As a leader, I look forward to working through the process with the teachers and seeing exciting results.”
Building on the pilot program's success, expanding A2i into more classrooms promises to revolutionize early childhood education and empower teachers to make an even greater difference in their students' reading abilities.
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About Smart Start of Mecklenburg County
SSMC is committed to community and evidence-based innovation in early learning and, as of today, invests in and/or administers nearly 30 programs, including MECK Pre-K, The Basics Mecklenburg, Guiding Parents to Services, Ready4K, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
SSMC mobilizes resources, forges partnerships, and supports families to improve early childhood health, education and development and ensure children are prepared for kindergarten. Their four focus areas are early care and education quality and accessibility, family support, health, and early literacy for children from birth to five. For more information, visit their website.
About Read Charlotte
Read Charlotte is a community initiative that unites educators, community partners, and families to improve children’s reading from birth to third grade. They don’t run programs. They are a capacity-building intermediary that supports local partners in applying evidence-based knowledge about effective reading instruction and interventions, high-quality execution, continuous improvement, and data analysis to improve reading outcomes. Read Charlotte is a public-private partnership administered by the Foundation for the Carolinas. For more information, visit their website.
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