Amanda Sayles is a cheerleader. And while there are pom poms in her office, that’s not the kind of cheerleader we’re talking about. The George Grant Mason Elementary AIS Reading Teacher, a 19-year veteran of the district, is a “cheerleader” for her students. During their AIS lessons, Sayles is not only teaching, but supporting them from the sidelines.
Academic Intervention Services (AIS) provide additional instruction to students at risk of falling behind in their class studies or receiving a low score on a state assessment exam. For example, an AIS reading student in kindergarten may need assistance with letter recognition or sounds, while a first grader may need help with sight words. Sayles, who also sits on the school’s Instruction Services Team (IST), aims to make the interventions “extremely tailored” and “targeted” to each student. That is where her creativity blossoms.
Walking into Sayles' second-floor office, your eyes are immediately drawn to a large fish tank resting inside the hollowed-out body of an old tube television set. The fish, just like the pom-poms, are intended to “spark” student enthusiasm and prevent intervention from becoming “cut and dry.”
“I try to find things that they're interested in, to make it exciting,” says Sayles as she thumbs through the pages of a detective story. “I have a lot of boys, they love nonfiction, so I am getting out my anaconda books, reptile books, shark books, shark attack books. I've got to get them where they're at.”
Sayles credits this approach to a Syracuse University professor who taught her to target a pupil’s interests and run with them. “She said if you only have students who care about sports, let them read sport scores. It doesn’t matter what they are reading, it matters that they are.” And while this requires Sayles to stay current on what’s trendy among the elementary school set, she says the classics “never disappoint.”
“Mercer Mayer, Berenstain Bears. I have some of my older students who are asking me about Amelia Bedelia, which is amazing,” says Sayles. “And because I am also old-fashioned, I believe it all comes back around. But I need to reach everybody. That is what I try to do.”
Even though the pandemic and remote learning led to an uptick in the number of students requiring intervention services, Sayles doesn’t think parents need to worry. “Kids are resilient kids and I think we'll all come back around.” But unlike those months in front of a Chromebook or iPad, the work is hands on in her room. Back to basics as she calls it. “I'm very much pencil to paper because during COVID, that’s what we missed out on.” She then took out a box of plastic witch fingers to show how she makes letter tracing memorable. “I also have sensory boxes with sand. They make the letters out of rocks. I try to keep it fun.”
GGM Principal Dolores Terlecky says it is “obvious” Sayles has found her life calling. “Amanda teaches with her whole heart. It is as simple as that. She cares about her students so much and will do anything to help them succeed.”
And they are. In the 221-22 school year, every TUFSD AIS reading student, in grades 1-5, jumped reading levels based on their Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) assessments (See AIS Progress Data here.)
When she does reach a student and sees a test score improve or a reading level jump, Sayles says it’s magical. “A mentor of mine said children are like popcorn. You’re just waiting for the kernels to pop. Don’t worry, your child’s going to pop.” A big smile comes across Sayles face as she describes when that moment occurs: “It’s the most beautiful thing when they read something and realize they got through a page without any help. That's the magic for me.”