Besides reading with their kids at home, parents are encouraged to volunteer at the school. Some educators decry grouping readers by ability all the way through sixth grade, saying it labels and limits them. Others say depending on a schoolwide curriculum created outside the school stifles teachers' creativity and professionalism. Wolcott has heard those arguments, but says they have not proved true at Pope. The ability groupings are reassessed every eight weeks to make sure no child is held back, she said.
Students move up to new groups all the time.
And although some Pope teachers were initially reluctant to follow an outside lesson plan, they changed their minds upon seeing it worked and that they could apply their own ideas within a basic framework, Wolcott recalled. There is conflicting research on that point. With less than two school years in the program, Wolcott can't say for sure. But her experience as an educator, including 11 years as principal at Blanche Pope, tells her that the students are getting a long-lasting foundation. Experts say there's no one best way to teach reading and no single curriculum that will work in every school, with every student.