Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

12 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

13 hours ago

Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dies at 71, TMZ Reports

14 hours ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

15 hours ago

Meme Stock Surge Underlines Market Froth, Mostly Centered on Retail Investors

15 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

15 hours ago

California Releases Teacher Data. It Shows Big Rise in Hispanic Teachers

16 hours ago

Biting a Bat and 5 Other Wild Moments From Ozzy Osbourne’s Life

16 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

1 day ago
How Do FUSD Black Students Spell School Success? R-E-A-D-I-N-G
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
June 19, 2020

Share

Branya Robinson, a soon-to-be fourth-grader at Storey Elementary, has been reading a history book that highlights the accomplishments of African American women.

Most people know Josephine Baker as a wildly popular American dancer in Parisian nightclubs in the 1930s. Branya says there’s more to Ms. Baker’s life story: “I learned that she was really good at karate.” And, Branya adds, Ms. Baker adopted 12 children: “I think she went to take care of them ’cause they didn’t have no family or no home.”

Marcus Winston says the history book would not have been his daughter’s first choice a few years ago as she struggled with reading comprehension. Her grades were suffering as well.

So Winston is justifiably proud of how Branya’s reading abilities — and her grades — have soared since she began participating in the Summer Literacy Program provided through Fresno Unified’s African American Academic Acceleration program.

Having The Right Kind of Book

He’s glad she’s able to get the help with reading that he didn’t have when he was growing up in Fresno.

Winston recalled trying to read a book by American abolitionist Frederick Douglass but having to stop at every sentence to look up a word that he didn’t know. The experience was frustrating.

By contrast, Summer Literacy Program teachers make sure that students get reading materials that match their skill level, so they are stimulated and not stymied as they expand their reading abilities, Winston said.

The five-week program, which launched earlier this month, is now in its third year with its largest class to date — 735 students, of whom 556 are African American children.

Summer Program Is Virtual

Unlike in past years, when students, teachers, and parents gathered in classrooms to work on reading skills, everything is happening in a virtual classroom this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wendy McCulley, A4’s executive director, said parents were drawn this summer to the Summer Literacy Program out of well-founded concerns that their children would lose ground academically because of the school closures in March.

“Reading is fundamental. … We’d known that for years, and for African-Americans to academically accelerate that basic building block has to be there.”Wendy McCulley, executive director, African American Academic Acceleration, Fresno Unified School District 

“I think some parents were really keying on making sure that their kids were involved in this program and our other summer school programs,” she said. “And I was just reading a study from McKinsey that they are expecting, depending on when school goes back in, that the achievement gap will grow by 15 to 20 percent based on the learning loss that African-American kids will have.”

The study by McKinsey and Company, a global management consulting firm, is predicting that the COVID-19 school closures will cause African American students to fall behind by 10.3 months, Hispanic students by 9.2 months, and low-income students by more than a year, and will result in higher dropout rates.

Program Addresses Education Inequality

The pandemic was not the only trigger for parents to enroll their kids. The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day focused the nation’s attention once again on racial injustice and inequity, leading parents to look for programs addressing education inequality.

“How much? Not sure. But the inequities have been there historically. It’s nothing new,” she said. “And I’m proud of the district and the fact that this initiative was even established because we’re going at it through direct services to African-American students and then really looking at the systemic barriers to their success. And, we have an African American task force that has looked at everything from social-emotional needs to increasing the number of African American teachers to growing trusting relationships with African American parents.”

McCulley said it won’t be clear until after the students are assessed as to the impact that the virtual version of Summer Literacy Program has compared to the in-person classes of the last two years.

The program, which in the past served pre-K through sixth-grade students, was limited this year to kindergarten through fourth-graders.

“That’s really where the model does its best work,” she said.

Topping The Nation

The 200 students enrolled in the first year showed dramatic improvements in literacy, and their eight months of academic growth put them at No. 1 in the nation, outperforming major school districts such as Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, and Oakland.

In the past two years, students in the Fresno Unified program have exceeded the national average for growth among Springboard Collaborative school districts. The Springboard Collaborative is a nonprofit that coaches teachers and trains family members to help students cultivate their reading habits.

The Summer Literacy Program has steadily grown and now includes students of other races and ethnicities. But it continues to be an educational opportunity targeting African American students for academic improvements, one of several that’s overseen by the district’s African American Academic Acceleration program.

Of the  2,400 African American students in kindergarten through the fourth grade in Fresno Unified, 68% are not reading at grade level, McCulley said.

Some are behind more than one grade level in reading, according to the district’s diagnostic testing.

‘Reading Is Fundamental’

Students who struggle with reading will also struggle with math and other courses, further hampering their academic progress and ultimately limiting their education and career choices.

“Reading is fundamental … ,” McCulley said. “We’d known that for years, and for African-Americans to academically accelerate that basic building block has to be there.”

She said the plan is to continue expanding the program and capture even more students who are struggling with reading, but that means having more teachers willing to give up part of their summer as well as recruiting parents or other family members whose participation is crucial.

Because Summer Literacy Program classes are virtual this year, teachers have restructured them so as not to wear kids out by lengthy online sessions. But there is still one-on-one coaching and home visits from teachers that started prior to the program and have continued, McCulley said.

Student Can Identify with Teacher

And teachers make a difference to students like Marcus Winston’s son Isaiah Winston, who is entering Terronez Middle School as a seventh-grader in August. Isaiah bonded with his Summer Literacy Program teacher last year — it was the first time he had had a teacher who was African American.

“I was a knucklehead. My goal is to make sure my kids don’t turn out the same.” — Marcus Winston, Fresno Unified graduate and parent 

“They just hit it off,” Marcus Winston said. Isaiah went from being standoffish in the classroom to more involved, and his grades have climbed to a 3.5 GPA.

Grade-point averages are now the source of some friendly family competition between Isaiah and Branya, who raised her GPA to 4.0.

Kudos to Summer Literacy Program

Marcus Winston gives the credit to the Summer Literacy Program and the African American Academic Acceleration program, and specifically to McCulley, for introducing parents to educational concepts they were unaware of, to educational programs that help children succeed, and diagnostic tools like iReady that his kids kept using even after schools closed in March.

He wants to keep them on track in their schooling now so they will be ready for college later and won’t have to scramble to complete courses like he did when he was graduating from Fresno High School.

“I was a knucklehead,” Winston said. “My goal is to make sure my kids don’t turn out the same.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

DON'T MISS

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

DON'T MISS

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

DON'T MISS

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

DON'T MISS

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

DON'T MISS

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

DON'T MISS

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

UP NEXT

California Releases Teacher Data. It Shows Big Rise in Hispanic Teachers

UP NEXT

Columbia University, Trump Administration Reach $200 Million Deal Over Funding

UP NEXT

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

UP NEXT

Karbassi Fears Costco Could Move to Madera After Fresno Project Halted by Court

UP NEXT

Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Life for Idaho Killings, Declines to Make Statement

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Why Did Judge Block a New Costco for NW Fresno?

UP NEXT

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Supplying Ketamine to ‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry

UP NEXT

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

UP NEXT

State Department Investigating Harvard’s Participation in Exchange Visitor Program

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

8 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

8 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

9 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

9 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

9 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

9 hours ago

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

10 hours ago

How Long Will Fresno’s Resort-Like Summer Weather Continue?

10 hours ago

Tulare County Judge Reduces Sentence for Teen Convicted in Killing Orosi Teacher

11 hours ago

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

12 hours ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Fresno State’s first football practice of 2025 began with a flyover. While the military jet’s path may have been coincidental, t...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Miguel Lara, a Hoover High School soccer coach, was arrested Thursday for possessing child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
6 hours ago

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

6 hours ago

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

8 hours ago

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

9 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

9 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, looks on, before President Trump signs the "Genius Act", which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend