“Benjamin Franklin Charter School (BFCS) has proudly and successfully partnered with Spalding Education International over the past 28 years. Countless students in kindergarten through 6th grade have benefitted from the Spalding program taught in our schools. As a Spalding accredited system of schools, BFCS has confidence in the value of implementing the Spalding program with fidelity. Parents and teachers are thrilled as students are propelled into a position of reading readiness which is quickly followed by proficiency in penmanship skills, accurate spelling, fluent reading, and exceptional comprehension. Highly-trained and qualified teachers guide students to access and apply these skills throughout all areas of learning during each school day.
“Unlike many other language arts programs, Spalding starts the young reader on the path to reading by introducing foundational skills in increments that build. This strategy allows for sufficient practice and leads to long-term mastery. We have witnessed many of our youngest students in kindergarten begin reading and then quickly advance to reading chapter books. In addition, our teachers have identified numerous instances in which new students enter our program struggling with poor spelling and limited writing skills and within a few short months of Spalding instruction, these students demonstrated a marked improvement.
“Student growth is not only anecdotally documented, but also empirically. The monthly Spalding Spelling Assessments has provided evidence that our students generally experience, on average, at least two years of growth each year. When reporting early literacy progress in compliance with the state of Arizona “Move on When Reading” law, the data shows that through the course of each school year, BFCS students consistently meet expected benchmarks while steadily decreasing the number of students in the at-risk category who need additional interventions. Finally, BFCS consistently scores 20% or higher above state averages in the English Language Arts category for annual state testing. This acceleration of academic ability and overall success demonstrated by data trends, indicates that the implementation of THE SPALDING METHOD® is a major influence leading to student reading proficiency and growth. We are grateful for Spalding and look forward to many more successful years as a Spalding accredited organization.”
