Groves Literacy Partnerships^®

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The Groves Literacy Framework, which was developed at Groves Academy, uses curriculum based on the Science of Reading and is rooted in decades of literacy and brain research. Over 90% of new Groves Academy students (grades 2-8) see growth in Oral Reading Fluency in their first year. The success of struggling readers at Groves Academy inspired us to establish Groves Literacy Partnerships in 2016 to radiate our advanced literacy instruction to other schools.

Groves Learning Organization began the first Groves Literacy Partnerships during the 2016-17 school year with two public charter schools and 16 classrooms in Minneapolis serving 350 students. During the 2022-23 school year, the program has ignited and spread to 73 schools and over 500 classrooms, serving more than 9,500 students in public and independent schools in the Twin Cities metro area.

Nearly all of the funding required to serve Groves Literacy Partnerships schools is generated through philanthropy.

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Literacy Risk Assessment 2022-2023

Our partner schools are closing the gap:

• Nearly one third of students that tested as high risk in the fall were no longer high risk by the end of the year (31.6% of high-risk students were no longer high risk by spring benchmarking)
• 98.3% of students in grades 1-3 that tested as high or moderate risk in the fall increased their reading speed and accuracy over the course of the year.
• 65% of students that tested as high or moderate risk in the fall increased their national percentile over the course of the year and started to close the gap to their peers who are reading at grade level.

This data represents the oral reading assessments of 5,268 students in grades 1-3 who were tested in both the fall and spring of the 2022-2023 school year.*

*This graph reflects all data for schools that use aimswebPlus as a screening tool. Kindergarten students in GLP partner schools do not take the oral reading fluency assessment, and the Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Paul City Schools who partner with GLP use a different screener.

Becoming a Groves Literacy Partnerships school begins by meeting with interested school administrators, then teachers in their school. School partnerships begin each fall and typically last for three years, with the goal of making each school site self-sufficient by certifying an onsite literacy coach in the building.

Schools have the best chances for success when six criteria are met:

1. Strong school leadership that supports the teachers, Groves literacy coaches, and overall program.
2. Teacher commitment to the Groves Literacy Framework and its implementation.
3. A building-wide commitment to the fidelity of the Groves literacy program.
4. Sufficient time allocated to daily literacy instruction.
5. Appropriate grouping of students based on assessment data.
6. Flexibility in classroom scheduling to accommodate weekly coaching visits.

In the first year, Pre-K–2nd grade teachers begin the implementation, with 3rd grade joining in year two along with intervention for struggling readers. In year three, a dedicated coach from the school staff is identified and trained by Groves Literacy Partnerships staff to make the program sustainable.

Each year, oral reading fluency data is collected in the fall, winter, and spring to identify high- and moderate-risk students and track program progress. Groves Literacy Partnerships coaches assist in the interpretation of the data, student groupings, and intervention planning.