Suburban Public School
Grades 3-5 • NEW JERSEY
Student Demographics
Title I School
73% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch
Demonstrated Effectiveness
Based on an analysis of student and teacher data, this school prioritized building teacher capacity in differentiated writing instruction for grades 3–5. They focused on supporting students’ idea development, organization, conventions, and purpose-driven writing. Professional learning emphasized conferring, small-group instruction, and targeted mini-lessons, anchored by The Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo. After the first common assessment (CA), an average of only 17% of students met or exceeded expectations. By CA 2, that percentage had nearly doubled to 34%, and by CA 3, it climbed further to 42%.
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This year, working with our literacy specialist and the Serravallo group on writing instruction has been an incredible experience. It was truly rewarding to engage in professional development alongside my colleagues and then collaborate with them to plan and deliver meaningful lessons. This opportunity not only deepened my understanding of writing instruction but also helped me refine my craft and view writing through a new lens.
— Reading Specialist
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Working with our literacy specialist this past year really opened my eyes to how important writing strategies are not just for the kids, but for me as a teacher. Writing has always been one of those areas where it’s hard to reach every student at their level. But the way he taught us to approach writing, breaking it down, focusing on helping kids express their ideas clearly and in an organized way made a big difference. With his help, we learned how to guide students through brainstorming, drafting, revising and more so that we can support them step by step. And now, we can actually reach every student in a meaningful way.
