Four elementary schools in Indian River County have reached a 90% reading proficiency goal set by the Moonshot Moment, a community-driven literacy program that has drawn national attention. The program was born in 2012 through The Learning Alliance, a nonprofit co-founded by parent Liz Remington, whose son struggled with reading. The nonprofit brings together schools, philanthropists, and business owners to fund added resources, including reading coaches, in elementary classrooms.
When Remington first started the effort in 2017, just 56% of third graders in the district were reading at grade level. Today, Rosewood Magnet School and Osceola Magnet School are among the four schools that have cleared the 90% threshold. At Rosewood, principal Adam Faust said the achievement came down to the final day. The school had six kids to test to make the 90%, needed three to be at proficiency or above, and five of those kids made it.
At Osceola Magnet School, principal Jennifer Norris said students will return to a new campus building and a new reading challenge after the school also cleared the 90% threshold. The school is shooting for 95% this year. Norris said the stakes behind that goal are significant. If students are reading at grade level by third grade, the data show they are going to be proficient readers for the rest of their life.
Other school districts across Florida are now looking at adopting the Moonshot Moment model, a continuation of a mission that started with one parent's child and has since helped thousands of students. Remington said the key is to put the systems in place and build your team and implement collectively and collaboratively. From birth to third grade, you're learning to read, Faust said. From third grade on, you're reading to learn.