Excellent teachers make a difference at Fort Hall Elementary School

Reading scores at Fort Hall Elementary School have drastically improved over the last, according to Blackfoot school district officials.

They say it’s all because of excellent teachers and a new reading curriculum. It’s also helped students develop a more positive attitude toward learning.

“We started the reading mastery program, and it was so awesome, because they were, like, ‘Teacher! I can do it! I can read it!’,” first grade teacher Kami Amrein said. “They were so excited to be successful, and as a result, they wanted to read more instead of ‘I can’t do this, I don’t want to do this, I hate reading,’ It was, like, ‘I can!'”

Students say the support their teachers give them makes them feel like they can succeed.

“My teachers always say I can do it, and, like, I’m real good at it,” fifth grader Jasmyne Bacg said. “It makes me feel like I can always try more and read harder, harder books.”

“All that support makes me feel like I can actually do it better,” fifth grader Sydney Benavidez said.

The reading mastery program gives students a lot of review and practice. Teachers say it’s very routine and students do very well with that routine.

This program isn’t new to School District 55, but it is new to Fort Hall Elementary. It’s been used there since January 2015.