St. John Lutheran School has been using HMH reading curriculum programs since the 2024-2025 school year. We will continue to use the following reading curriculum for the 2026-2027 school year: HMH Into Reading (Grades K-6) and HMH Into Literature (Grades 7 & 8). In addition to the HMH curriculum teachers also provide supplemental reading support through programs: Heggerty, UFLI, PRESS, Orton Gillingham, and IXL. In addition to the specific reading programs, we also have used Handwriting Without Tears for the past year and will continue this for all grade levels including Pre-K classes.
Students can be referred into our Reading and Math Intervention program as needed through their primary classroom teacher. The Intervention Program is aimed at identifying and providing appropriate levels of support for students in either of those core subjects. There is a decision making tiered algorithm guiding the referral and intervention process. The tiered algorithm is based on student academic progress and assessment scores and helps to guide decisions about student instructional strategies, identify areas for improvement, personalize learning, and help identify students in need of referrals for potential specific learning disabilities. Mrs. Merlene Hesse has been the teacher providing intervention instruction and is also a resource for teachers planning to refer children to the intervention program. Students’ families are involved in this referral process and kept up-to-date on progress through teacher communications. We also partner with our public school to provide Title services as well as dyslexia and math screenings. Services for special education needs are also available for referred students through the ROD Special Education Cooperative .
Please contact Jennifer Willoughby or Merlene Hesse at 812-926-2656 or office@sjlsaurora.com with any questions.