Program information¹

Developer and contact

Developed by Robert Slavin and Nancy Madden in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins University, Success for All® is distributed by Success for All Foundation, Inc., 200 W. Towsontown Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21204-5200. Email: sfainfo@successforall.org Web: www.successforall.net Telephone: (800) 548-4998 ext. 2372.

Scope of Use

SFA® is used by schools in 48 states, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. According to the Success for All Foundation, more than 1,300 schools in over 500 districts have used the SFA® whole school reform program. Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Australia have implemented adapted versions of SFA®.

Teaching

During the regular daily 90-minute reading period, students are grouped into reading classes of 15–20 students who are all performing at the same reading level (regardless of age- or grade-level). Regrouping allows teachers to teach the whole class without having to break the class into multiple smaller reading groups.

Reading teachers at every grade level begin the period by reading children’s literature to students. Teachers discuss the story with students to enhance the students’ understanding of the story and the story structure and to increase their listening and speaking vocabulary. In kindergarten and first grade, teachers emphasize the development of language skills and use phonetically regular storybooks and instruction to focus on phonemic awareness, auditory discrimination, and sound blending. In the second through fifth grade, teachers use school- or district-provided reading materials, either basal or trade books, in a structured set of interactive activities in which students read, discuss, and write about the books. At this stage, teachers emphasize cooperative learning activities built around partner reading. Students work on identifying characters, settings, and problem solutions in narratives. Students receive direct instruction in reading comprehension skills.

Teachers in their first year teaching SFA® receive a three-day summer training and 12 additional on-site support days during the school year. Additional in-service presentations covering topics such as classroom management, instructional pace, and cooperative learning are made by school facilitators and other program staff throughout the year. Facilitators organize information sessions to allow teachers to share problems and solutions, suggest changes, and discuss individual children. Twice a year, trainers provided by the developer visit and observe teachers. After the first year, training is reinforced by regular in-services, an annual SFA® conference, and on-site implementation support visits for school leaders and teachers. The staff development model used in whole school SFA® reform emphasizes relatively brief initial training with extensive classroom follow-up, coaching, and group discussion.

Principals and facilitators receive five days of initial training in leadership, data collection and progress monitoring, classroom instructional practices, school climate, and intervention using SFA® strategies.

Cost

The cost of the SFA® whole school reform program is approximately $80,000 in the first year, about $50,000 in the second year, and $35,000 in the third. Teacher training and ongoing support is required and is included in the cost of the program.