BVN student makes great strides in reading with the help of dedicated teaching staff

Elliott Armstrong loves to read. He loves mystery books and action stories. He loves escaping into books. But much like the plot of a novel, Elliott's journey through school has been quite a story. In the beginning, he struggled with reading, scoring low on assessment testing. He wanted to do better. He wanted to be at the same level as his peers.

At Mission Trail Elementary, Leawood Middle and at Blue Valley North, his teachers worked with him on his reading. In middle school and the beginning of high school, he took part in Read 180, a comprehensive literacy intervention program geared toward helping students gain the skills they need to succeed in reading. Read 180 is designed to be tailored to meet individual students' needs. A student uses the Read 180 program until they reach a certain level of understanding and test out of the program. When Elliott came into Ken Taylor's classroom as a freshman, he was testing in the 33rd percentile. Taylor is a Communication Arts and Read 180 instructor.

"Classes were really challenging for me," Elliott said. "I really enjoyed reading, but I wanted to do better."

He put in hours of work at school with Taylor and at home with his mom. He read any chance he could get. At one time the idea of reading a 300-page book seemed impossible. One year later, everything changed.

"Something clicked in him and he gained confidence," said his mother Gina Kraus. "He thought, 'I can do this and I am doing this.'"

A combination of believing in himself and putting to good use the skills he gained in Read 180 paid off. By the first semester of his sophomore year, Elliott tested in the 86th percentile in reading. He was finally at the same level as his peers. From then on, his love of reading exploded. Soon reading a 300-page book was nothing. His confidence grew and he blossomed at school.

"There was this moment when he figured out that he could do it. Once he figured that out, he skyrocketed," Taylor said. "To see a student achieve such great success was very rewarding. It's students like Elliott that remind me of the reason I got into teaching in the first place."

Elliott is thrilled with his success and is excited for the future.

"Now that I'm a better reader, a lot more doors are open for me here," he said. "Before I couldn't imagine taking honors or AP courses, now I'm considering it."

Elliott's mom is grateful to all of the teachers and staff members who helped her son. She is excited for his future and hopes that he takes his love of reading with him wherever he goes.

"It's all the teachers at Mission Trail Elementary, Leawood Middle and Blue Valley North. Without all of those teachers, Elliott wouldn't be where he is today," Kraus said. "I also want Mr. Taylor to know how much I appreciate him helping. It was his approach that made Elliott want to learn more and more than more."