ONEIDA, Tenn. — While most school districts in East Tennessee saw their percentages of third-graders reading at or above grade level drop, Oneida Elementary School's percentage skyrocketed.
In 2018, 27.5 percent of Oneida's third-graders were on track or had demonstrated mastery of the statewide reading concepts.
In 2019, that number rose to 48.9 percent — a 21.4 point increase and the highest in East Tennessee.
Reading specialist Denise May said it's been a slow, but positive process across grade levels.
"I can't speak to the amount of effort from kindergarten to third grade to get the children here," May said. "They came into third grade ready to read independently."
May said the reading increase is due in part to the Tennessee Read to be Ready program and how Oneida has implemented it.
"We do the whole group, we do the workshops and then we do the [individual] interventions," principal Rick Harper said. "We have these students and they are ours... we have to look at what we can do to meet their needs."
In addition to meeting with the students in group and individual settings, teachers let students pick what they want to read. Allowing them to choose something they are interested in has helped foster a love for reading.
"It's exciting to see when the children come to you and they're like, 'Oh, I'm done with this book, can I go get another one?'" third-grade teacher Stephanie Boshears said.
Students also get to pick partners to hold each other accountable.
"Students are excited about reading," fellow teacher Hali Stonecipher said. "It's more student-led and their pace is up to them."
Stonecipher said a variety of writing assignments, tests and activities can come with each text.
Oneida Elementary School also has 12 aides that can help mentor the students and ensure they are not falling behind.
"It takes everybody on the team from kindergarten up to third grade, and beyond, as well as your support staff and administration backing you," May said.
"We hire quality people that genuinely care about the education of our students and the community," director of Oneida Schools Jeanny Phillips said. "That’s the key to all of our success is our staff."