VALDOSTA – Scintilla Charter Academy students showed significant gains in reading levels based on Georgia Milestones scores from 2021, which the Georgia Department of Education recently released. 

In 2019, the Nation’s Report Card showed that only about 35% of fourth graders were proficient in reading. A long-term study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found students who were not proficient in reading by the end of third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers.

At Scintilla, 85% of third-grade students demonstrated reading proficiency on the 2021 Georgia Milestones, significantly higher than 62% of third-grade students at the state level, school officials said in a statement. 

From 2019-21, Scintilla saw an increase of 21 percentage points of students demonstrating reading proficiency on Georgia Milestones.

“Scintilla’s instructional staff is committed to following research that provides more information about how children learn to read, how to make sure every scholar learns to read and what to do when a child encounters difficulty learning to read,” school officials said. 

“SCA’s educational approach provides high-quality systematic, explicit instruction for reading and language.” 

“How We Teach Reading at SCA,” a document available on SCA’s website, explains the holistic approach to reading instruction.

“The research is telling us that while reading is more challenging for some students than others, with evidence-based reading instruction, nearly every child can become proficient by the end of third grade,” said Mandy Brewington, dean of school. “Over the past several years, Scintilla has focused on providing the training, resources and support needed for teachers and staff to implement evidence-based reading instruction.”

The percentage of scholars reading on grade level or above increased significantly in all grade levels in 2021 compared to 2019 Georgia Milestones scores.

“At Scintilla, we are deeply committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality education and equipping every child with the ability to read. We believe that learning to read is such an essential skill to not only find success in school and to thrive in society, but also to experience the joy that reading brings to life,” Brewington said.

Scintilla Charter Academy is a public charter school serving scholars in kindergarten through seventh grade in Valdosta, Lowndes and Brooks County. 

For more information about Scintilla, visit www.scintillacharteracademy.com.