Whiz Kid: Meet Dana Staffa

Whiz Kid's name: Dana Staffa

Whiz Kid's age: 11

Whiz Kid's school: Hillside Elementary School

Whiz Kid's accomplishment: Staffa, a fifth-grader, has increased her DIBELS score by an impressive 23 words over the course of a semester. DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures to assess a student's acquisition of literary skills from kindergarten through sixth grade.

Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness: Staffa, who is known as a bright and polite student, is very committed to continually increasing her DIBELS score, said Jeanette Burnham, a Washington Reading Corps member who works with Hillside students.

"She is aware that she tends to drop some words found throughout fluency passages while reading and strives to correct herself, thus increasing her score," Burnham said. "Dana is also willing to help other students with what worked for her suggestions. I consider myself very lucky for the opportunity to get to know her and watch her grow academically."