The Lexia Reading Class at Ambuehl Elementary School is Helping to Close the Reading Gap Among Struggling Readers.

Students are closing the reading gap at Harold Ambuehl Elementary School in San Juan Capistrano. Thanks to Capital Bank of San Juan Capistrano, students at Ambuehl have been able to benefit from a highly effective reading program called Lexia Core 5. Built on 30 years of educational research, Lexia Reading Core5 is a technology-based reading program for students of all abilities from pre-kindergarten through grade five. Designed to accelerate fundamental literacy skills development, the program provides a personalized learning path for each student with scaffolding and explicit instruction that supports students if they struggle. Each of the 18 levels of age-appropriate, skill-specific activities aligns to the Common Core State Standards. The program simplifies differentiated instruction, enabling at-risk students to close the reading gap more quickly while allowing on-level and advanced students to continue to progress. In early February, 38 students who were reading significantly below grade level participated in an intensive Lexia class for 8 weeks. They spent an average of 123 minutes per week on the Lexia reading program in the school computer lab. Students earned prizes for being on task and passing levels within the program. Analysis of pretest and post-test data showed that the students made average gains of 12 months on word attack skills, 7.2 months on reading fluency, and 5.4 months on word recognition skills during that two month period. On March 30th, 2015, representatives from Capital Bank participated in an awards ceremony handing out awards to deserving students. Darren Ramos de Dios, a third grader, received top honors because he logged the most minutes on the program and passed the most levels during the eight week intensive class. “I really enjoyed playing Lexia, passing the levels, earning prizes, and improving my reading,” said Darren. “I’m definitely going to participate in the next eight week class.” Teachers at Ambuehl are extremely pleased with the program’s success. According to Mrs. Devaney, a first grade teacher, “The Lexia reading program has dramatically increased my students’ reading skills.” Mr. Coon, a second grade teacher, said, “I have seen tremendous improvement in all my students and especially in my struggling readers after they participated in the intensive Lexia class.” One of the best things about the Lexia program is that it is extremely easy to put into place, and students can access the program on almost any device at school and at home. The entire Ambuehl community is extremely grateful to Capital Bank for funding the Lexia program this school year. With their support, and the support of other valued community members and businesses, Ambuehl students are making tremendous progress in their reading skills, and the reading gap among struggling readers and their peers is definitely closing. For more information about the Lexia Core 5 program, please visit www.lexialearning.com. For more information about the Ambuehl Lexia program, you may contact Ambuehl Elementary School at 949-661-0400. Capital Bank, our community partner, is located at 31351 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 101 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 and they can be reached at (949) 373-7306