Highlighting Mount Lebanon’s literacy success

On behalf of the Mount Lebanon Elementary School community, I want to thank the Valley News for covering Sen. Maggie Hassan’s visit on Tuesday. We always welcome opportunities for visitors to see our school so we can celebrate the learning and joy that our students and staff experience each day.

While the story in the Valley News focused on Sen. Hassan’s views on important national issues like rising costs for families, we want to make sure the reason for her visit is not lost: celebrating our tremendous strides in literacy education.

Sen. Hassan’s staff reached out to us after they read a national news story that found Mount Lebanon is one of the top 5 schools in the state, “beating the odds” in teaching children to read, based on the poverty level in our school. They wanted to know how we have transformed our approach to literacy education to achieve these strong results.

We were thrilled to share with Sen. Hassan, her staff and the Valley News journalists who covered the visit, how we have implemented a consistent, research-backed reading curriculum across grade levels, and intentional support for all learners.

We have seen firsthand how these practices have fostered deep love and excitement for reading in our students. This is clear in the data, too, here at Mount Leb and at Hanover Street School, our district’s other elementary school.

Last school year, the percentage of kindergarteners district-wide meeting literacy benchmarks went from 44% to 89% over the course of the year. In our latest standardized test results, all grades 1-4 in the Lebanon School District are well above the 60th percentile for both growth and achievement in reading, both of which significantly exceed the national average.

All of this is due to the support of Lebanon School District families, and the expertise and dedication of our staff. Sen. Hassan’s visit was a wonderful opportunity to recognize all of this great work in our school. We are proud of our diverse West Lebanon community and remain committed to supporting all of our students and families.

Katie L Roach, West Lebanon

The writer is principal of Mount Lebanon Elementary School.