Gecewicz said the cost should drop as more teachers complete the training. During the current fiscal year, Vista Unified is spending more than $3.4 million on Lindamood-Bell, and it has spent $6.7 million more on the program since fall 2006. She said that she had experienced success with Lindamood-Bell as a superintendent in Colorado, and that the Vista board hired her in part to improve district students’ literacy and math skills. “This should be the year that we send the majority of students into the next level,” she said.ĭistrict Superintendent Joyce Bales persuaded the Vista school board to buy the Lindamood-Bell and SuccessMaker programs when she arrived in 2006. Sandy Gecewicz, Vista Unified’s chief academic officer, said both programs should yield progressively better results as they mature. Computer resources for SuccessMaker, a predominantly computer-based math program, are still needed at five campuses. Teachers are still being trained in Lindamood-Bell teaching techniques. But large numbers of students who are in the program – as many as two out of three at some schools – are failing SuccessMaker’s own assessments.Īdministrators say part of the reason is that the programs are still ramping up. Students who do well in the SuccessMaker math program go on to do well on the state’s grade-level exam for math, according to the study. Many of the lessons were taught in eight-week segments.Ĥ2 percent raised their performance one or more levels. Out of 613 students from third through ninth grades who were studied for the analysis of the reading program, 29 scored “proficient” or better on the state’s grade-level exam for English/language arts.Īll 613 students were tested after receiving some amount of Lindamood-Bell instruction.

The district targeted the lowest-performing students in reading for Lindamood-Bell instruction. The study doesn’t give the school district a clear picture of whether to continue spending millions of dollars on the two programs.

Reviews lindamood bell program