Read Across America

         “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
                                                                      The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”                                                                                                                                                   Dr. Seuss

On Monday, March 3^rd, SHARP schools, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and Mayor Tom Barrett celebrated Read Across America in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  Milwaukee police officers visited 22 SHARP schools throughout Milwaukee to read to our students.  Mayor Tom Barrett and Captain Pierce of the MPD were special guests in the celebration at one SHARP school, Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM).  The mayor read from SHARP’s student researched book Pat the Great Cat: A Jaguar’s Journey, and Captain Pierce read from Yertle the Turtle.

Read Across America is more than a birthday party, though; it is a celebration of literacy and education.  It is an established fact that the ability to read paves the way for future success.  The event on Monday was a huge success as students all around Milwaukee showed their enthusiasm and excitement for reading, encouraged by SHARP, the Milwaukee Police Department, and Mayor Barrett.

It is SHARP’s mission to encourage strong, capable readers, writers, and researchers, thus inspiring students to learn.

It was truly fascinating to see our mission in action as part of Read Across America.  The SHARP program along with the educators, the support of the donors, and leadership of the board is opening doors for our students.  For all this important support for our students, we are extremely grateful.

A SHARP Lesson

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a SHARP lesson in the 2^nd grade classroom at Blessed Sacrament School.  The teacher was Litza J, who has been using the SHARP program in her classroom for 18 years.  Observing Litza with her students was truly inspirational. Not only did she make her job look easy and fun, but her students were 100% engaged in what they were learning. 

I was not observing a SHARP in-school presentation, but rather the “everyday” SHARP lesson.  The SHARP program is designed so that teachers are easily able to integrate the curriculum into their lesson plan.  In some cases, SHARP is the entire curriculum, while in other cases it is used as a supplement.  It is a real joy to see the unique and creative ways teachers are able to use the SHARP program in the classroom.


As Litza announced it was SHARP time, the students cheered and quickly gathered together. Litza held up several different visuals and discussed them with her students.  Litza had the students pretend they were junior docents at the museum as they talked about the images.

I was very impressed as the students talked about “Sunny the Dog”-they knew it was considered a portrait and the artist was Alex Katz.  They also discussed a “landscape” image and were able to name the different types of clouds.   Do you know the difference between a stratus and a cumulonimbus cloud?  Watch the video here!

SHARP is grateful for Litza and all our SHARP educators.  It goes without saying that what our teachers are able to do in their classrooms and the differences they are making are incomparable. During my visit to Blessed Sacrament, I was joined by Dori Zori from 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.  Click here to learn about Dori’s experience with SHARP, Litza and our students. 

New Board Members, News Schools, and A New Book

Having recently celebrated Thanksgiving, on behalf of the Board of Directors, we wish to reflect upon the

many blessings for which SHARP Literacy can be thankful. This past year has seen seven new individuals join the Board of Directors. Their fresh insights and energy have augmented the valuable efforts of the entire Board. Together they have advanced our strategic plan as SHARP forges ahead to give SHARP students bright futures.

Additionally we give thanks for growth in a number of areas.  We have enjoyed a notable increase to more than 7,000 students, a growth of approximately 30%. Additionally more schools have joined the SHARP program.  Fall presentations at schools have begun, the increases in students and schools necessitating the addition of many new presenters. The completion of the latest We Love to Learn book, A Great Lakes Adventure: Salmon’s Journey Home, will soon be enhanced by the construction of a weather cube by MSOE students.

Groundwork has already begun on our 12^th We Love to Learn Book, tentatively entitled There Grows the Neighborhood: Agriculture in the City, to be authored by Dr. Michael H. Carriere. Focusing on urban agriculture, we look to Will Allen’s experiences to guide the book’s development. In another venture, our partnership with the Children’s Outing Association (COA) has us working with students and parents from Westside Academy and Doerfler School.

We are excited to be moving toward a future that appears to be ripe with possibilities. As long as we continue to develop those possibilities and meet the challenges presented to our students, we are confident that we all will reap the benefits of our hard work and planning. We ask that you support us as we move into this exciting future.

Warm Regards,

Lynda Kohler                                                                 Dan Meyer

President/CEO                                                               Board Chairman

A Busy Fall for SHARP

A Busy Fall for SHARP!

November is here and the SHARP program is in full-swing.  We just introduced a strategicplan that represents a continuation of the award-winning, visual arts based program that has become synonymous with SHARP Literacy.

Experiential learning remains key to our strategy.  Every student has now become even more actively engaged and involved in learning through a program that is dedicated to improved assessments and instruction.

The SHARP program remains rooted in our mission of literacy through the visual arts, yet has incorporated a cutting-edge approach with the addition of STEM into curriculum materials.

New Schools and New Faces

SHARP is now serving nearly 7,000 student and educators-a 23% increase from 2012-13.  Through November and December 10 SHARP presenters will conduct in-school presentations in 331 classrooms.  Please help us in welcoming Rachel Arbit as our Senior Director of Programs. 

SHARP'S Newest Participating Schools

	Grades	# of students	# of teachers
Golda Meir School	3-5	283	9
Lutheran Special School and Education Services	4	24	2
Northwest Catholic School	2-3	65	3
Our Father's Lutheran School	3-4	10	1
St. Anthony School	1-5	690	26
St. Joseph's School	1-5	138	5
Milwaukee Environmental Sciences School	1-5	100	4

A Novel Event

Thanks to all our generous donors and friends, for making SHARP Literacy's 12th Annual A Novel Event, held on September 23, 2013, a tremendous success.  A very special thanks is extended to our event co-chairs Thelma Sias and Jan Lennon and Presenting Sponsor BMO Harris Private Bank.

Mark your calendars for the 13th annual A Novel Event

September 22, 2014!

  

The keynote speaker  actor, author, and producer LeVar Burton. Burton is the well-known former host and producer of the PBS Reading Rainbow series.  As always, all proceeds from the event help Milwaukee's most at-risk students to read and succeed in elementary school and beyond.   

We Love to Learn Book Reading

Author and Illustrator Francisco Mora read an excerpt from SHARP's 11th student-researched We Love to Learn

book A Great Lakes Adventure: Salmon's Journey Home at an event at Boswell books on November 4, 2013. 

We are so excited for all the milestones that our students will reach this year and grateful for your partnership and support.

Warm Regards,

Lynda Kohler

President/CEO

SHARP Students BRIGHT Futures

In my first blog, I wrote about how heart-warming it was to hear how much people believe in the SHARP program, the schools, students, and educators.  Hearing people talk about their connection to SHARP gave motivation and inspiration as I began my journey as your executive director. I have learned that educators’, administrators’ and donors’ respect for the SHARP program is rooted in what the SHARP program brings to a classroom and what that means for Milwaukee’s youth.  Here is a taste of why people have believed in the past and will continue to believe in SHARP:

SHARP Students BRIGHT Futures

• SHARP Books: Student-researched We Love to Learn book series.  The 11^th book is scheduled to be released in September.
• SHARP Results: SHARP students show significant vocabulary gains. We are currently compiling the results from the pre- and post- assessments for 2012-2013. (See more below)
• SHARP Initiatives: Book In Every Child’s Hands, Artist-in-Residence (Murals and Quilts), and the Writing Challenges.
• SHARP Grade Level Specific-Curriculum: SHARP-developed student and teacher workbooks aligned with the Wisconsin Academic Standards for science, social studies, and language arts.  This past year the SHARP program was implemented in 248 classrooms and 30 schools.
• SHARP Hands-on learning tools and experiences: Working in partnership with Milwaukee School of Engineering and Brady Corporation, SHARP has developed 3D learning tools to use in conjunction with the 1^st grade book about pollination and the 2^nd grade book about water.
• SHARP Tours: SHARP students in grades 2-5 attend a SHARP-trained docent-led tour of the Milwaukee Art Museum.  SHARP students in grade 1 attend a tour of the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University. 

Now more on the Results!

Bee Quilting Unveiling at the
Milwaukee Art Museum

In the 2011-12 school year, SHARP began testing all SHARP students across all grade levels and at all SHARP schools.  Previous assessments included only a subset of the SHARP student population.  Pre- and post- vocabulary assessments include using context clues instead of the current practice of only matching words with definitions to more closely align with expectations on the Smarter Balanced Assessments.

This year, SHARP hired an external evaluator to complete a comprehensive assessment of SHARP student achievement (grades 1 through 5), a comparison between SHARP students’ ability to correctly identify and use vocabulary words and students that do not currently participate, and a longitudinal study tracking SHARP students’ progress as they advance through the grades.  These measurable outcomes will provide evidence-backed validation of the SHARP program’s impact. 

The final report will be released in early August as part of the SHARP Annual Report, but we do have some preliminary results. 

1^st Grade-Semester 1, Apple Pie Tree

The first grade program continues to grow, and over 1,000 1^st grade students participated this year.  Results indicate that during the 1st semester, on average, 82% of SHARP 1st graders made significant gains in identifying and using curriculum-related vocabulary words.  This is an increase from 68% in 2011-12.  Nearly 80% of 1st graders took the assessment this year. 

The schools with the highest percent of vocabulary gains and highest percent of students tested for grade 1 are as follows:

School	% of students tested	% of students with vocabulary gains
Blessed Sacrament	100%	100%
Escuela Vieau	95%	92%
Victory School	86%	90%
King’s Academy	94%	88%
Catholic East	100%	83%

All Grades Participation Rates for Select SHARP schools

The goal is that 75% of our students to complete both pre- and post-assessments.  The initial average is 82%, an increase from last year’s 77%.

All Grades Percent of Vocabulary Gains for Select SHARP schools

SHARP 2nd Grader

The goal is that at least 60% of all SHARP students demonstrate a significant improvement in thematic vocabulary and concept acquisition over the course of one year.  The average for select SHARP schools is currently 93%.

These results show that big things are happening at SHARP!  We will continue to assess our program in order to best serve our schools and students. Thank you for being a part of our students’ journey and helping them achieve the bright futures that they work so hard for, and that they deserve.

It's Writing Challenge Time!

Did you know that SHARP students are published authors?  Each spring SHARP receives over 5,000 writing submissions in the forms of poems, essays, brochures, illustrations, and short stories.  We compile all the submissions and turn them into a book.  Five books, one for each grade level, are published and distributed to the schools.

Not only are the Writing Challenges a chance for students to “show-off” to their families and friends what they have learned throughout the school year and use their new vocabulary, they are another chance for us to see the SHARP program brought to life, a chance for us to see how the students have truly engaged in the learning process.

The Writing Challenge submissions really give insight into the personalities of our students. Thoughts about students’ passions or curricular areas to which they relate are revealed through their writing style and content.   SHARP second graders explain how "cool" it would be to travel around the world like a raindrop, SHARP fifth graders write about how they would have helped start a new country if they had lived during the American Revolution, and SHARP third graders relate what they like about their community and how they would make it better.  Our students are an inspiration.

I am so proud that our students are able to use their new vocabulary and concepts, thankful for the teachers because of their dedication to the SHARP program, and simply amazed at their creativity and imagination.

I have been told, and I can imagine, that students’ faces light up when they page through the books and see their work in print.  I am looking forward to experiencing this.  This year’s books have not yet been published, but I thought I’d share a few samples with you.

Happy Reading!

Lynda

 Science: Weather, Water and the Environment,  Submitted by SHARP 2nd Graders

The Cycle of a Raindrop

I was a little rain drop sitting in a puddle.  A kid stomped on me and then he started to run.  I fell off of his shoe and I slid into the street.  Then it got really hot so, I went high into the sky.  I saw other rain drops and we came together to make a cloud.  And then we fell down to the ground again and formed another puddle.  Then a cat licked us up.

Social Studies: Our Community. Milwaukee through the eyes of a SHARP third grader.

Favorite Milwaukee Places

Milwaukee Riverwalk

The Milwaukee Riverwalk is in the urban part.  Milwaukee Riverwalk is where you can see ducks and water, plus you get to walk on the pretty landscape.

  

Changing my Community for the Better

 

Pollution

What I would change is the bad pollution and water in my community because I want people to have a better life.  I would change it by making big posters and tell people to hang it up on tall buildings.  If I can change my community would be better, and people and animals would live longer.

Bullying

I want less bullying and violence.  If I can change it I would tell my friends to help me and talk against violence.  I will would meetings and announcements.  It’s helpful to people when they are safe and secure from violence.

Fixing the Broken homes

My town is starting to have broken down houses.  I see good people looking for homes in my town, they don't want to buy broken down homes.  My solution is that we should repair the houses.  We can get tools to fix and repair the houses from falling apart.  Then there would be more houses and more people.  After we do that, people that are good would come to my town.

1st Grade Expansion

Growing the First Grade Program

Notre Dame Primary School 

Research has consistently shown that the earlier students develop strong foundational literacy skills, the better their chances are of succeeding in later grades and graduating from high school.   In 2009, SHARP added a 1st grade curriculum to its program.  Since then 1st grade participation has grown to include two-thirds of the SHARP schools.  This year, SHARP is reaching over 1,000 first grade students—an additional 400 students compared to the 2011-2012 school year.

Throughout the school year I have been able to observe our first graders as they received their workbooks, helped with presentations, and attended field trips.  Nothing speaks louder for SHARP than our students in action.  Our first graders energetically talk about honey bees carrying pollen in the “pockets of their legs,” they can tell you about an egg in a nest becoming a bird, and explain how a tree changes from season to season. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The first grade presentations, led by Dr. Patrica Ellis, Mary Henry, and Francisco Mora, are truly interactive learning experiences.  Students are able to see and touch artifacts that directly relate to the vocabulary words.  Last fall I became a baker with the students as we “made” apple pies in conjunction with the book The Apple Pie Tree, written by Zoe Hall.  The students even reminded me to put on my oven mitts because the pie would be hot!

A core part of the SHARP 2nd through 5th grade program has always been the trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum; this year SHARP has implemented a field trip to the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University for the 1st grade students.  A special SHARP tour has been designed by the Haggerty Museum to align with the 1st grade science curriculum and SHARP’s tenth We Love to Learn book A Busy Bee: The Story of Bella the Honey Bee. By far, the highlight of the tour is the student interaction with Bella the honey bee robot as they name the parts of a honey bee.

Trowbridge School of Science and Discovery

The expansion of the first grade program is a significant milestone for SHARP, but more importantly it is a significant milestone for our students.  I hope you are as excited as I am about what the future holds for them!

Warm Regards and Think Spring,

Lynda