Cloud Peak Elementary in rural Buffalo, WY (population 4,500) serves 225 students in grades 3 to 5, more than a third of them from low-income families, writes Principal Maggi Lambert in The 74. We have the equivalent of 19 full-time teachers and one full-time school counselor.
According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 31% of fourth-grade students performed at or above the proficient level in reading. We’re falling short when it comes to reading instruction.
Until two years ago, Cloud Peak used a “traditional” intervention model. We identified the lowest performing students as “struggling readers.” They all received the same intervention regardless of their skill gaps.
We didn’t have a systematic approach to ensure that interventions targeted the students who needed them most. High-achieving students weren’t always given opportunities to extend their learning, and struggling students didn’t always receive the intensive support they needed. Teachers were doing their best with the tools they had, but there was no consistent way to measure if what they were doing was working — or if some students were slipping through the cracks.
We set up professional learning communities (PLCs) — groups of educators who work collaboratively to improve teaching and learning for all students — and received intensive training on using data to collaborate on innovative solutions.
We looked at our data and introduced diagnostic measures to identify specific skill gaps interfering with students’ reading ability, followed by diagnostic assessments to home in on targeted interventions.
In a small school, it takes every single staff member to run a successful intervention and enrichment program; one of our proudest accomplishments is investing in our support staff. Paraprofessionals are full members of our instructional teams, attending every professional learning opportunity and participating in PLCs.
Our most powerful shift was carving out a dedicated intervention and extension block, which we call “Reading I&E.” Every third, fourth, and fifth grader receives daily targeted reading instruction — support or enrichment — in addition to regular core reading instruction.
While traditional models might offer intervention a couple of days a week to the lowest performing readers, we do intervention and enrichment every day for every student. Since I&E is built into our master schedule, students aren’t pulled out of science or social studies class for intervention.
These I&E blocks are non-negotiable. All children deserve instruction tailored to their needs. Reading I&E instruction is deeply responsive. We group students based on data and regroup them every three weeks using curriculum-based and state assessments and benchmarks. Teachers, interventionists, and paraprofessionals sit together to review the data. We reflect, regroup, and make adjustments. Our weekly PLCs build on that work, helping us stay aligned, share strategies, and get better together.
In fifth grade, for instance, all students read novels, but their experience varies greatly depending on their needs. Enrichment for stronger readers includes book talks, character interviews, and story mapping. Intervention for others includes vocabulary, explicit decoding support, and structured scaffolds to boost comprehension.
Our first group of students to experience Reading I&E made remarkable gains — moving from 5.4% below the state average on the third-grade assessment to 11.2% above the state average just two years later as fifth graders.
One hundred percent of third-graders at the end of this school year showed growth and improved their correct-word-per-minute scores; 82% scored proficient in reading. We decreased the share of students flagged as “at risk” in reading skills by three percentage points, and we increased students who scored “advanced” by five percentage points.
We’re still learning. Right now, we’re working to refine our common formative assessments so they align tightly with our instruction. In Grade 3, we’re also identifying students who’ve mastered foundational skills so we can transition them into more advanced reading work. It’s a good challenge to have: How do we best serve kids who are ready to stretch?
Our model is replicable, and it works. You don’t need a magic curriculum or a huge grant. You just need to be willing to think differently.
The 74
