Regina Jones, literacy coach at Woodhome Elementary/Middle School, believes improving literacy starts in the earliest grades. With seven years of experience at Woodhome, Jones has used data to guide her efforts and achieve positive results, especially in the early grades.
“Kindergarten and first grade are really important,” Jones said. “When kids leave kindergarten not understanding letter names and sounds, it makes it harder as they move up.”
As literacy coach, Jones works with teachers to apply effective literacy techniques, focusing on analyzing class data to help individual students. Her role gives her a broad view of how early education impacts later learning.
“When you’re a literacy coach, you see how what happens in kindergarten affects eighth grade,” Jones said. “My job is to pull all that together.”
Jones is one of the original Baltimore City Blueprint Literacy Coaches. She works closely with Woodhome’s teachers, providing professional development, collaborative planning, and in-classroom guidance on best literacy practices.
Now, Jones is focused on empowering teachers to interpret student data independently.
“I want teachers to grow in their decision-making,” she said. “I’m stepping back from being the solution person and moving into a facilitator role.”
Jones is seeing improvements. Woodhome’s middle school literacy scores have risen each year. She’s also tracking progress for fifth graders, with many on track to meet the school’s goal of 58 percent proficiency. Overall, Woodhome is seeing growth in literacy across grades. For exmple, students on grade level increased from 31 percent to 44 percent in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
“I hope we can get as many kids as we can to grade level in the next year or two” Jones says. “I would really love to hit that 80 percent key performance indicator for Baltimore City Public Schools where 80 percent of our kids are on or above grade level” Jones said.
Fun facts
What is your favorite book? Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
What was your favorite book to read as a child? Goosebumps by R.L. Stine - I used to read all of them!
If you could meet any author, who would it be? Zora Neale Hurston
Which is better, the book or the movie? The book is always better
To learn more about the work of literacy coaches in City Schools, watch this video.