Courtesy of the Hollister School District:
The Hollister School District is excited to announce that students in the district have read over 80 million words during the 2019-2020 school year on the Footsteps 2 Brilliance platform. The district will be giving certificates and gifts to teachers whose classes read 1 million words, 1.5 million words, or 2 million words. F2B includes three early literacy apps in English and Spanish: (1) Footsteps2Brilliance School Edition (2) Clever Kids University Pre-Reader, and (3) Clever Kids University I Can Read.
The countywide English and Spanish early literacy initiative, Footsteps 2 Brilliance, was brought forward by San Benito County Superintendent Krystal Lomanto three years ago. The San Benito County Office of Education chose to support the program because it enabled school districts to provide online libraries of Books, educational games, educational activities, and creative writing opportunities to every family. Superintendent Lomanto said, “The San Benito County Office of Education is excited about the partnership with Hollister School District and their commitment to supporting literacy across the district. The Footsteps 2 Brilliance app allows for unprecedented flexibility and multi-lingual configuration. We are excited to see the use of FS2B during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
When Superintendent Diego Ochoa joined the district in January 2019, he made it a priority to join with other districts in the county, “I saw Footsteps 2 Brilliance implementation as a win-win. We were the only district that hadn’t adopted the program and I saw it as an equity issue that needed to be addressed.”Superintendent Ochoa said, “This is a program that kids enjoy. It’s free for families. All the books are in English and Spanish. Wow!”
The district sought to close the vocabulary gap for low-income students and English learner students. The program has given every child the opportunity to read books in their home with the touch of a screen. Footsteps 2 Brilliance includes a curriculum filled with hundreds of English and Spanish books, games, and songs that can be used without any internet data. Families can download the app by using the school district’s free guest wifi. The student can then use the program on their parent’s phone, tablet, or computer and all their work is saved.
Ladd Lane
Ladd Lane is appreciative of the leadership shown by teachers. The teachers have challenged and motivated students. Due to their hardworking efforts, Ladd Lane students love to read! Principal Jeannine Ostoja said, “The school is extremely proud of Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Garcia-Gomez, and Mrs. Charmichael for motivating their kindergarten, first and second grade students to read. These teachers continue to inspire our young readers using Footsteps 2 Brilliance.”
R.O. Hardin
R.O. Hardin is proud that students were able to turn to Footsteps to Brilliance and continue to focus on language and literacy during this COVID-19 era. Mrs. Hagins and Mr. Lundquist broke the 2 million mark as was their goal this school year! Ms. Flores’ class has always been a leader in our Footsteps world and leads our school with over 500 hours of reading! Principal Lilia Espinoza said, “Nothing will stop a resilient student from learning!”
Sunnyslope
Prior to the campus closures, Sunnyslope students had read about nine million words and that has been matched plus more in the last ten weeks since we closed our school campuses. Principal Joe Rivas said, “It is a great honor to announce that our school has two classes that have read over two million words! In addition, nine other classes have read over one million words. For our school to have 11 out of 16 eligible classrooms reach this achievement is truly special. GO TIGERS!”
Gabilan Hills/Hollister Dual Language Academy
Footsteps 2 Brilliance is bringing out the best in our young Gecko and Jaguar readers! Gabilan HIlls students have read almost 3 million words with Ms. Lomanto’s kindergarten class in the lead reading over 1.6 million words! HDLA’s two TK classes have read over 3 million words! In all, HDLA’s TK through 3rd graders have read a total of 14 million words! Principal Monique Ruiz said, “I credit teacher and parent involvement for their success. When teachers challenged parents to support their child in using Footsteps to Brilliance, they delivered!It’s exciting to know that so many children are developing crucial skills through this program!”
Calaveras
The school is very proud of our students who logged 2,600 hours while reading 10 million words online. Principal Ken Woods said, “We are looking forward to even higher numbers as the word gets out to our families. We are also very excited about getting real books in their hands again.”
Cerra Vista
Footsteps2Brilliance has been an instrumental component in keeping students connected to literacy during school closures. The Cerra Vista family has done an excellent job of leveraging this program’s enriching activities to keep students on pace for proficiency. New principal Colleen Myers said, “Mrs. Ruiz’s Kinder class has achieved over one million words so far and Mrs. Jacob’s 2nd grade class has nearly 575 journals created!”For more information, contact Superintendent Diego Ochoa at [email protected]
