It is amazing how effective dictation is when it is part of your daily routine. My kids, at this point in the year, are spelling better than my kids did at this time last year.
1st Grade Teacher, Fleetwood School District
I would never have put a book in a kid's hand on day 17 of kindergarten. And look, these kids just read an entire book today.
Kindergarten Teacher, Fleetwood School District
My daughter is so happy to be practicing reading out of the book you sent home. We are having revival at our church this week in the evenings, and she took it along and read the whole service. She also was so happy to pick out some of the words on the projector that she could read (we, the, can) it made me so happy.
Parent, Forbes Road Elementary School
On day 30 of school, my kindergarten students are reading words and sentences!!!
Kindergarten Teacher, Warren Area Elementary Center
Generally, report card testing is a very stressful time not only for the teachers but for the kindergarten students as well. Especially the first nine weeks. We are pointing to letters and asking them to state the letter name and then the sound the letter makes. The children look at us like we have lost our minds. We have to explain what we are asking so many times. We are all exhausted by the end!
This year was completely different due to ECRI! When we pointed to the letter and said “NAME” the students knew exactly what was being asked of them and even though it was so early in the year, they knew the letter name! The same was true for “SOUND” as well as “WORD”. It was phenomenal.
As a group we agreed that this was the best first nine weeks report card testing ever!
I can’t wait to see how our year progresses with ECRI and the students just continue to show improvement with this program.
Kindergarten Teacher, New Brighton Area School District
ECRI is being taught in braille! It has been really cool to see this student learning to read in braille and doing the dictation in braille. Each time I watch him in the lesson, he is more and more confident and fluent.
Educational Consultant, Lebanon School District
A kindergarten teacher has the sound spelling cards on rings for students to practice. Kindergarten students are using the sound spelling card routine with partners and other adults in the building to quiz them and make sure they know the ones they have learned!
Principal, Central Dauphin School District
When first introduced, I was skeptical that ERCI was going to help my Learning Support students learn phonics and be able to read. However, this is the first year in some time that my students know their letters and sounds and I did not have to reteach them in the beginning of the school year. ERCI worked for my students!
Teacher, Greater Nanticoke Area School District
My first graders and I have recently started implementing and practicing ECRI routines in the classroom daily. Even in a short amount of time, I am seeing benefits in the areas of student participation and confidence. The consistency of the routines and the repetition of skills are effective for all learners, especially those who aren't as confident in their skills. Students are excited to do ECRI each day, because they are noticing their own success with it!
1st Grade Teacher, West Mifflin School District
This is my 11th year working as a reading specialist and it is the 1st year I have not had a student tell me "I can't read!".
Reading Specialist, Warren County School District
As a principal, I have witnessed our Kindergarten students since starting the ECRI program reading much sooner than in prior years. We have Kindergarten students reading in October where in prior years they were not reading until January or February.
Our teachers are excited about teaching the ECRI program and seeing great results from the students.
Principal, Bensalem School District
One of my students is selectively mute and he struggled at first to participate, but he now enjoys the routines and structure of ECRI and his classmates encourage him to do individual practices and cheer in excitement when he uses his voice to answer. He is saying letter names, sounds and blending words aloud for the entire class to hear now, all in the first 2 and 1/2. months of kindergarten.
Kindergarten Teacher, Easton Area School District
My Kindergarten students are beginning to say the names and sounds of letters, read many sight words, and read short decodable texts. They are especially excited when they are able to read a story independently.
Kindergarten Teacher, Easton Area School District
During the dictation, students were distracted by the erasers on the pencils and erasing every little error. So, I switched to pens and the students are so excited to do dictation and they are so engaged during dictation. There is no more erasing to take them off task!
Teacher, Central Dauphin School District
While monitoring the progress of my first graders, I have had so many students (that struggled last year) blending and reading nonsense words! They think about the sounds in their head then read the whole word out loud. Usually we don't see this sort of thing until the end of the year. ECRI has really helped out these kids learn to read more accurately. It made me feel so great that our ECRI routines are helping and working!
1st Grade Teacher, Greater Nanticoke Area School District
The Kindergarten classes held a big holiday program at our Elementary school right before break, and we welcomed the families back to our classrooms for cookies and punch. My classroom was filled with families all excited about their child's performance, and buzzing about the holidays.
A mother of one of my students came up to me to ask how her child was doing, and then proceeded to tell me that she is so proud of the reader he has become. She actually got tears in her eyes. She said that he reads her the paper copy books that I send home each week, and she cries every time he reads them. She just cannot believe that at 5 years old, he is reading books. I told her she should be proud.
What a wonderful thing to hear right before the holidays. It speaks volumes to how effective this program is for our young learners!
Kindergarten Teacher, Clarion-Limestone School District
It is evident that the ECRI program is working. I see their growth every day and it continues to grow.
It is evident ECRI is working. I see the students' growth everyday. The explicit instruction breaks down reading skills into small, manageable steps. This structured approach can make learning easier to understand and follow, especially for visual and auditory learners. The directions are very clear, and the students have responded well to the daily instruction.
Kindergarten Teacher, Chester Upland School of the Arts
As a way to support letter naming with struggling Kindergarten students, we created a 5th grade buddy program. The 5th graders had to apply and interview for the positions. Then they were taught how to include ECRI letter naming and and letter sound routines into their work with their assigned student. At least three days a week, the 5th grade students would come to get their kindergarten students and provide an extra dose of letter naming and letter sound routines to at-risk kindergartners. They were responsible to collect "data" and report to me (as the organizing reading specialist). Then they were "paid" with a book or other choice payment.
The data has shown great improvement and the 5th graders and the kindergarten students are both learning a lot of valuable lessons in addition to skills!
Kindergarten School District, Central Dauphin School District
My kindergarten multilingual learners are beginning to read irregular words and blend sounds to read regular words. Students are beginning to read short texts and are excited to read!
Kindergarten Teacher, Easton Area School District
A parent during parent teacher conferences asked if we had implemented a new reading program because they could see a huge difference in their son's reading ability already in November of Kindergarten in comparison to their daughter who is now in 2nd grade and therefore did not receive ECRI instruction.
Kindergarten Teacher, Fleetwood School District
The success I’ve seen in my kindergarten classroom this year has been amazing for all students, but especially for my multilingual learners. Using ECRI, I’ve watched them go from not being able to identify any letters to reading decodable text and even writing on their own! It’s been incredible to see their confidence grow. The progress they've made in such a short time has blown me away. I couldn’t be more proud of how far they’ve come, and it really shows how powerful the right support can be for any student, no matter where they start.
Kindergarten Teacher, Fleetwood School District
Year after year I have had a large group of students that are just under the benchmark expectation on assessments. We began using ECRI this year and I have seen such a huge difference. I only have two students not meeting the expectations. I have also seen incredible gains with all of my students across the board. The structure, routines and practice that ECRI provides has been unmatched by other programs I have used in the past.
Kindergarten Teacher, Fleetwood School District
I have been teaching for 31 years, and this is my 11th year teaching kindergarten. Programs have come and gone, but I hope this one stays. I am amazed to see how well all of the children are reading so early in the school year.
Kindergarten Teacher, Fleetwood School District
I just wanted to share with you that a first grader read a page from “Green Eggs and Ham” to me today and I was really impressed with her reading skills. I asked her teacher if they were focusing on phonics more and if she had also noticed a difference in their mastery. She said she is noticing big differences.
Librarian, Trinity Area School District
I just sat down yesterday to do my report card testing for our third nine weeks report card. I was shocked that every single one of my Kindergarten students could blend! I have never had an entire class able to blend accurately by the third nine weeks. I am so thrilled!
Kindergarten Teacher, New Brighton School District
It is amazing to see the growth that students are demonstrating due to the implementation of ECRI. The small groups that I have worked with throughout the year have made so much progress towards benchmark goals. I really feel as though ECRI is helping to close the gap for those students who have demonstrated a need for intervention.
Teacher, New Brighton Area School District
I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to work with my child. I have seen an improvement in his reading. He is doing so good. I’m so proud of him. He is counting and reading at a good pace. I just wanted to say thank you.
Kindergarten Parent, Easton Area School District
Our Tier 3 students in kindergarten are reading better than the first-grade students in after school tutoring. I think everyone will see a huge difference next year in first grade.
Kindergarten Teacher, Easton Area School District
I am a first grade teacher who has implemented ECRI this year. I love the explicit routines used to teach multisyllabic words! I have never had my students apply this in their every day reading. It is amazing to see!
1st Grade Teacher, Warren County School District
Using the preteaching of ECRI lessons as a Tier 2 intervention is building confidence for the whole group lessons in my students.
Reading Specialist, Warren County School District
During Tier 3 Intensification, one of my students was able to read 8/12 irregular words during individual turns and was absolutely beaming with pride at her growth and hard work! So exciting!
Reading Specialist, Central Dauphin School District
While reading together one night as a family, my son, who participates in ECRI in his kindergarten class, asked us all to be quiet so he could "blend" the next word in the book we were reading. He then successfully read the word and continued to read the rest of the book! It has been such a joy to watch him grow this year academically as he learns to read and to watch his confidence soar!
Parent, Forbes Road School District
My son was chatting on the way to school this morning and told me that his name has a digraph in it, "ch". I said, "Yes, you're right!" He was so proud and then proceeded to list every name in our family and tell me if they had a digraph in their name or not!
Parent, Forbes Road School District
Compared to last year, my students are reading much more fluently this year! On one particular day, during decodable text fluency practice, two boys were sitting close to each other and could hear each other reading. The first boy was reading with excellent accuracy, rate, and expression. The second boy looked at him and said, "Someday I want to be like you!" It was so heartwarming for everyone involved!
Teacher, New Kensington-Arnold School District
Last year, our kindergarten students were the first to receive instruction through ECRI, and we’re now in the process of rolling it out in first grade. As the Literacy and Instructional Coach, I’m actively supporting our implementers throughout this transition.
Yesterday, while observing and modeling routines in first grade, we ran into only one challenge—students were making so few errors that I had to pretend they made mistakes just to demonstrate error correction. The first graders beamed with pride, and it was truly beautiful to witness.
Literacy Coach, Bensalem School District
The kids are really getting good at ECRI and we are really enjoying it! I also reteach this at centers with my lowest group and they are way more focused in the small setting and are finding more success in the whole group. Thank you for teaching me!
Teacher, Hermitage School District
As a reading specialist, I work with Tier 3 students. As we have only been implementing ECRI for a couple of weeks, I love that students are so excited to recognize Irregular Words from their classroom within the instruction of my small group!
Reading Specialist, Coatesville Area School District
My students are doing well with the routines. I have especially been excited to see how quickly they are picking up the sight words this year with ECRI, much faster than in years past. I also appreciate the way ECRI pre-teaches skills so students are more prepared when the curriculum introduces the skill.
Teacher, Coatesville Area School District
Our teachers have fully embraced ECRI instruction, and as a result, our students are demonstrating significant progress. With the ongoing support of PaTTAN and the IU, we have strengthened our ECRI instructional practices and enhanced student literacy skills. Teachers are implementing ECRI with high fidelity, reflecting the effectiveness of the training and resources we’ve received. In addition, our Check and Connect program is now fully operational and providing valuable support to both students and families. Overall, the SPEL Grant has helped us establish a strong foundation for literacy instruction and student support that will continue to benefit our entire school community.
Director of Education, United School District
We began implementing ECRI about a month ago and my Kindergarten students are already using the routines independently to support reading and writing skills! During a brain break, a few of my students chose to draw pictures. I overheard them practicing the Phoneme Segmenting routine to write the sounds in the word. I was overjoyed to witness this because this is not typically a skill that Kindergarten students practice independently at the beginning of the year! I am excited to see where ECRI takes my students this year!!
Kindergarten Teacher, Coatesville Area School District
I am seeing such an improvement in the amount of Irregular Words my Tier 3 students know to date!
Kindergarten Teacher, Coatesville Area School District
Many students are picking up the sight words quickly. The consistent and explicit instruction style encourages learning.
Kindergarten Teacher, Coatesville Area School District
I am impressed with the new Introductory Dictation Routine that we started. I love the fact that the students are writing sounds in words that they hear. Then, I am modeling how to write them. Finally, they are practicing one more time. I’m excited to see more independent writers as a result of the routine!
Kindergarten Teacher, Coatesville Area School District
After completing the initial ECRI professional development, all Kindergarten teachers have begun incorporating key components of the program into their daily literacy instruction. Teachers are demonstrating increasing confidence with lesson routines, pacing, and structured literacy practices. Several classrooms have already moved from introductory implementation to more fluid and efficient delivery of ECRI lessons.
The teachers are also making effective use of the instructional coaches provided through the ECRI/SPEL grant. Coaches have been welcomed into classrooms for modeling and observation. Teachers are actively seeking feedback, asking clarifying questions, and adjusting instruction based on coach recommendations. This ongoing collaboration has strengthened fidelity to the program and supported teachers in refining instructional techniques.
Special Education Supervisor, Coatesville Area School District
There is a kindergarten student that struggles with behavior and his 1st language is Spanish. ECRI instruction provided him with the structure and routine he needed. He now carries his ECRI stories everywhere he goes and reads them to everyone.
Teacher, Greater Nanticoke Area School District
My students are reading much more fluently and using different skills daily to decode new words!
Teacher, West Mifflin School District
My students love ECRI! During Thanksgiving week in their weekly special class, Discovery, my students made a “What am I Thankful for Book” that included a message and picture showing me teaching ECRI.
Teacher, New Brighton Area School District
At the beginning of the year, my kindergarten intervention group knew little or no letters and sounds. Now, in December, they are sounding, blending, and reading words fluently!
Kindergarten Teacher, Warren County School District
Every single one of my 1st grade students are reading!! Even my struggling students are reading. It is wonderful to see their confidence! They love to whisper read for me to hear.
1st Grade Teacher, Warren County School District
While doing progress monitoring recently I had a student reach over the EOY benchmark for WRC. I shared with the student that he did a great job and he responded, "I didn't even go to preschool, but I can read!"
Kindergarten Teacher, Warren County School District
My lowest WIN group has been receiving the intensification program of ECRI. They have surpassed this! They are all reading!
Teacher, Warren County School District
I began teaching ECRI with my 2nd graders this year. It's the 68th day of school and I've noticed how helpful it is for young readers because it gives them clear, predictable routines and breaks reading skills into small, manageable steps.
Students receive appropriate practice with vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, which helps the skills stick. The structured lessons support struggling readers while still challenging stronger ones, allowing every student to participate and succeed. Most importantly, the consistent success kids experience builds their confidence and helps them see themselves as capable, growing readers.
I was skeptical and nervous about it in the beginning. Now, I'm a firm believer in the program. I love it!
2nd Grade Teacher, Warren County School District
I have a student who always just smiles every time I call on her to do an individual turn for word reading. Last week, I called on her and she had actually blended the word and said it out loud. The class cheered and were so happy for her!
Teacher, New Brighton School District
Having implemented ECRI in first grade this year, I have seen tremendous growth and confidence in our most struggling students. The phoneme segmentation and dictation routines have specifically given students a key to success with mastering their early literacy skills. This program is transforming instruction across our school and it is amazing to see when things "click" for our students.
1st Grade Teacher, Hermitage School District
My student has made many gains with the Check and Connect component of SPEL. He recently made his goal to complete his homework. His attendance has increased and so have his grades. I love to encourage and see him every day. I am so happy our district is a part of the SPEL grant.
Check and Connect Mentor, Kennedy Early Childhood
I am having great success with my Check and Connect student. His mother informed me that he is having a better year this year and that he is comfortable with me as his mentor. He is usually quiet and shy, but I have noticed he is getting out of his shell more and he has been engaging with me much more, too. He also has been doing well this year in the classroom his mom states which makes me so proud!
Check and Connect Mentor, Kennedy Early Childhood
We have seen many successes with the implementation of Check and Connect. In the short time of implementation, students are seeking out their mentors, behaviors have decreased, students have started to implement strategies to improve self-regulation, and attendance has improved.
Some specific examples include:
A mentee tends to have a hard time thinking before they react which often leads to peer conflict. They have shown improvement with asking for timeout to see their mentor before having off-task behaviors.
A scholar who has struggled with missing school, coming to school on time, peer interactions in large groups, and math has been coming to school on time and spending time with their mentor to receive help with her math and increase her ability to avoid negative peers.
A scholar is expressing his feelings better. The mentor does a home visit when the student misses consecutive days of school which seems to increase the student's attendance.
Check and Connect Coordinator, Chester Upland School of the Arts
I am finding success with my Check and Connect student! My student is now seeking me out daily to say hello! A sweet smile in the hallway each time I see her and is opening up so much more about her needs. There seems to be a great rapport built and I feel that this student needs to have an adult to talk to due to the severity of issues she is dealing with in her home life. The Check and Connect program seems to be allowing her the opportunity to process her needs and feelings in order to have a more successful school day.
Check and Connect Mentor, Hermitage School District
My Check and Connect student was placed with me because he has a lot of anxiety and emotions when he approaches anything new. We began talking about ways to approach these things like his favorite character, Sonic! Through a different lens has been making slight improvements when approaching new things. While not always successful, he is able to verbalize, ahead of time, his emotions, so we can remind him of the "tools" he has in place to help him. Together, we have found a love of reading stories together, coloring and talking and the best hugs and high fives ever on the toughest of days!
Check and Connect Mentor, Hermitage School District
As the Check and Connect Coordinator, I am truly impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication our mentors bring to this program. We now have 15 trained mentors and have successfully paired 12 students. While some are still in the early stages of implementation, the feedback so far has been incredibly positive. Our teams are working diligently to ensure this intervention is meaningful and effective for the selected students, and it’s heartening to see families actively involved and excited for their child to be a part of it.
Furthermore, the bonds forming between mentors and students are both inspiring and strong. Our mentors serve as the students' greatest advocates, and it’s clear that the students are motivated to make their mentors proud. The impact of these relationships is already making a difference, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of this program.
Check and Connect Coordinator, Trinity Area School District
When I first started Check and Connect with my student, she was struggling in pretty much all aspects of school life. One of her biggest struggles was her relationship with coming to school and finding the positives in her learning environments. While her behavioral data does not show much growth, if any, we have been able to nurture her relationship with school. She used to miss multiple days and try to get out of coming to school every chance she got. She expressed that she "hated school" and "school was for losers". Her attendance has greatly improved along with her desire to come to school. She now looks forward to getting on the bus and coming to school. She is happy while she is at school and even expresses her joy in learning. She has greatly improved her relationship with peers because she now thinks of school as a positive experience. While I know that this is only one piece of the puzzle to her success, it is a major one. Having a positive relationship with school has opened the door to address and improve other behaviors throughout the school day.
Check and Connect Mentor, Trinity Area School District