Rdale Students Make Strong Literacy Gains Through Bridge2Read

In classrooms across Robbinsdale Area Schools (Rdale), more young students are learning to read on grade level, and the growth is happening early.

During the 2024-25 school year, every kindergarten through third grade classroom in the district implemented Bridge2Read, bringing evidence-based instruction, coaching, and tutoring to thousands of students. Early results show promising gains, particularly among students who entered the year behind in reading.

Bridge2Read, developed by ServeMinnesota, is a literacy initiative based on the science of reading. As an extension of the successful Reading Corps initiative, Bridge2Read equips teachers with free resources, ongoing coaching, and systematic instruction strategies to ensure all students become confident readers. 

In the districtwide implementation of Bridge2Read during the 2024-25 school year, some of Rdale’s youngest learners showed significant growth in reading achievement:

• Overall Growth: Classrooms averaged a 7% increase in students meeting benchmarks.
• At-Risk Students: 29% of students who did not meet the fall benchmark met the spring benchmark.
• Kindergarten Impact: The largest gains were in kindergarten, where there was a 14% increase in students reaching benchmarks overall, and 48% of students who did not meet the fall benchmark met the spring benchmark by the end of the year.
• At-Risk Students’ Growth: Students who did not yet meet spring benchmarks still closed the gap toward proficiency by an average of 38%.

For district educators, the growth reflects the importance of building strong literacy foundations as early as possible.

“I see students utilizing the science of reading and applying skills in ways that I was not seeing before,” shared Molly Nelson, a third grade teacher at Noble Elementary. “Students are saying things like 'that word needs the floss rule,' or are tapping their sounds out on their fingers and placing their hands on their jaws to break words down into smaller parts.”

All Rdale elementaries have designated Bridge2Read coaches who observe classrooms once a month and provide feedback to teachers. Coaches also participate in weekly professional learning meetings and help analyze implementation and student outcome data to guide instructional decisions.

“Bridge2Read's implementation is an excellent example of how, when teachers and administrators collectively commit to implementing with integrity and utilizing data for instructional decisions, we can positively impact student learning together,” said Maria Roberts, Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning. “There has been intentional analysis of both adult data in the form of implementation metrics and student outcomes using Bridge2Read. This analysis helps us to ensure we are meeting both educators' and students' needs.”

The implementation of Bridge2Read in Rdale began in fall 2022 with pilot classrooms at Lakeview Elementary and Sonnesyn Elementary. As educator interest grew and early student data demonstrated success, the district expanded the program to all kindergarten through third grade classrooms at both schools during the 2023-24 school year before scaling districtwide in 2024-25.

“Learning a new curriculum is never easy, and our educators' consistent efforts to support students in foundational literacy skills are fantastic,” shared Roberts.

ServeMinnesota has worked closely with Rdale throughout the implementation process, supported in part through a three year, $450,000 grant from the Ciresi Walburn Foundation.