This is the first year the Billings school district will be tracking results to measure the effectiveness of its Jumpstart literacy intervention program, aimed at young readers straggling behind grade level.
Literacy coach Janelle Clark said Jumpstart fits alongside other staffing and training efforts the district has made over the last few years to help young readers catch up.
“We’re gonna really start to see some big changes in our reading scores I think,” she said. “Right now we’re working on closing the gap.”
Jumpstart is aimed at kindergarten through third grade students.
According to analysis tool the Nation’s Report Card, fourth grade reading levels in Montana ranked marginally higher than the national average in 2024 and also trended lower over the last few years alongside that national average.
The 2023 state legislature established the Jumpstart program as an intervention to target lagging reading levels.
Clark said Jumpstart classes this year will build on last summer’s experimentation with venue and instruction.
“We were kind of spread out all across town to try to fit everybody’s needs, but that became an issue with staffing. We didn’t have enough administration. So, this year we’re trying to consolidate it and we’ll have two sites,” said Clark.
The Jumpstart program continues June 23 to August 7 with nearly 270 participants registered, about 30 more than last summer.
