News

Literacy on Mercer Island

In the 2022-2023 school year, Mercer Island School District rolled out the first of two phases of the new literacy program. This program, Benchmark Advance, is a full literacy program that includes foundational skills, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction that is aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR).

Teachers, who have previously engaged SoR training, LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) have worked this year to align the evidence-based program with strategies that they know to be effective, and make the program even better. Benchmark Advance leverages SEL, history, and science and technology within its scope, to provide teachers a greater opportunity for cross-content studies. In the 23-24 school year, the remainder of K-5 will implement Benchmark Advance for their literacy blocks.

Video produced by Cameron Selby, Christopher Lin, Alex Ignjatic, Jack Chapuis