47
were given early literacy screening
assessments. Based on the standard
score cut-off, 119 of those children
qualied for NRBS! instruction, which
was delivered by their teachers. Following
the completion of the NRBS! instruction
during the school year, the children were
re-tested. The results were conclusive:
• The average standard score of
children who received NRBS!
instruction went from 78.49 (indicative
of reading readiness skills in the atrisk
range) to an average score of
97.42 (indicative of reading readiness
skills in the average range).
• None of the children who qualied
for and received NRBS! instruction
met the standard benchmark at
the initial testing in the fall; at postinstructional
testing 87% of them met
the benchmark.
Across all measures, children who
received NRBS! instruction made
substantial gains in their reading
readiness skills. This was the third year
of implementation of the NRBS! program
in Manatee County and student literacy
growth increased each year, growing from
72% of students meeting the benchmark
upon completion of the program in the
first year to 87% of students meeting
the benchmark last year. Data collected
indicates that students who receive
NRBS! instruction are better prepared
for foundational reading and for the
expectations of kindergarten.
How It Works
To get started, the ELC provides an
intense, hands-on, twelve-hour training to
each teacher who plans on implementing
the program. After successful completion
of the course, the ELC then presents
each instructor with a Nemours Reading
BrightStart! Lesson Plan Kit, Manipulatives
Kit, and book set. Each teacher is assigned
a coach to serve as an essential resource
throughout the program. The curriculum’s
structure encourages teachers to use a
variety of multisensory strategies to reach
each child by targeting their individual
learning preferences.
The NRBS! Lesson Plan welcomes
movement and demands act ive
participation from both the instructor and
the student. A Manatee County School
District VPK teacher says: “The program
design allows me, as a teacher, to use a
variety of instructional methods: reading
aloud, writing activities, kinesthetic
activities and creative arts to help students
embrace the learning.”
Children are grouped by ability, so
students on similar skill levels work on
lessons together in groups of no more
than four at a time. The program is
currently implemented in both threeyear
old and VPK classrooms, with the
three-year-old classroom lessons being
slightly modied for their developmental
level. While only a portion of students in
each classroom qualify for the NRBS!
instruction, teachers are welcome to
use the lesson plans and manipulatives
with all their students and because of
the success of the program, a majority
choose to use NRBS! classroom-wide.
While the NRBS! program is new to
the seven classrooms from the School
District this year, Early Learning Specialist
Beth Severson says their teachers are
embracing the program: “Teachers
advocate for the Nemours program for
several reasons. First, it designs an
instructional sequence that includes the
seven components of the Four-Year Old
Standards for Language and Literacy
(listening & understanding, speaking,
vocabulary, sentences and structure,
conversation, emergent reading and
emergent writing). Also, rather than
focusing on discrete skills in isolation,
students are using language and literacy
in a variety of meaningful contexts.”
Janet Hamstra, Director of Sunshine
Academy & Daycare in Bradenton says:
“NRBS! provides direct, structured
instruction on literacy components,
alphabet knowledge, phonics ,
comprehension, language development
all of those literacy skills.” She adds:
“It’s a great tool for our English language
learners it helps those students who
come in already behind the other children
because they are dual language speakers.
It really sets them on pace with the other
children who have already mastered
the language, at an age-appropriate
level. A year of Nemours and VPK is
going to make a world of difference in
their kindergarten readiness and their
kindergarten experience.”
Why It Works
Susan Miller Kelly, an Instructional Support
Coach at the ELC who trains and supports
the NRBS! classroom instructors says:
“I think there are several reasons why it
works. First, that it’s done in a small group
of no more than four children at a time.
Second, it incorporates multimodality it
has kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and tactile
approaches. Third, it’s a no-fail system
for both the students and teachers the
teachers can’t fail in the administration of
the program, because it’s all right there for
them. It’s a self-contained kit.”
She continued: “The lessons are very
short, too. They may work on lessons
four or ve times a week with each group
and each lesson is only 10 to 15 minutes
long, so it keeps the children’s attention.”
Beth Severson adds: “Teachers report
the hands-on nature of the activities is
engaging and motivational for students.
Four-year-old’s learn best when tasks are
interactive and playful, and the Nemours
Program designs activities accordingly.”