Wisconsin Middle School Sees Significant Progress in Literacy

When Leigh Ann Graf was hired in 2018 as an instructional coach for Riverside Middle School in Watertown, Wisconsin, her top priority was to turn around troubling levels of reading and math achievement.

A key obstacle, Graf realized, was that literacy instruction was not strongly aligned with state standards or a rigorous curriculum. Additionally, the teaching was inconsistent across classrooms in the Watertown Unified School District’s one and only middle school, relying primarily on lesson plans developed by individual teachers.

“Door to door, everyone was teaching something different,” Graf said. “So, an 8th grader going from one ELA classroom to the next, if they had to transfer teachers, would get a vastly different experience.” This did not seem like a recipe for success.

Now that’s all changed at the 700-student middle school, situated about halfway between Milwaukee and Madison in a small city (more like a small town) surrounded by rural farmland. Riverside is making significant headway in students’ reading and writing proficiency. At the heart of the difference, Graf said, is the pivot to Wit & Wisdom®. The K–8 curriculum from Great Minds^® is crafted to help students build the knowledge and skills they need to be successful readers, exceptional writers, and effective communicators.

“Give Us the Recipe”

The school’s English language arts teachers made it clear that they were ready for a change. “It’s really important that we had the buy-in from our staff, the whole ELA department,” Graf said. In effect, teachers told her, “Give us the recipe: We will add our spice.”

To be sure, the transition has had its challenges, but teachers see a huge payoff.

Achievement data from state assessments in Wisconsin bear this out. For example, the current cohort of 8th graders at Riverside was below the state average in 6th grade in 2022–23 for ELA, at the state average as 7th graders in 2023–24, and is now above average in reading and writing, according to Graf.

In writing, 52 percent of 8th graders scored “proficient” or above this school year, a big bump from prior years. (The state assessment changed in 2024, making precise comparisons difficult, but the improvements remain clear, Graf said.) 

The middle school has a diverse student population by multiple measures, with 44 percent economically disadvantaged and 8 percent English language learners. By race/ethnicity, the school has 68 percent white students, 23 percent Hispanic students, and 5 percent multiple-race students. 

Riverside students come from five elementary schools, including a specialized school focused on environmental and agricultural pathways with an emphasis on sustainability, a STEM elementary, and a dual-language campus with instruction in Spanish and English.

The transition to Wit & Wisdom began at Riverside Middle in 2021–22 with a pilot module. Full implementation began the next year. 

“We were encouraged strongly to make sure we taught with fidelity so that we were getting the true experience. And I think that has paid off,” said Shelly Degrandt, an 8th grade ELA teacher at Riverside.

The curriculum is used in grades 6–8.

Productive Struggle

Educators at Riverside today talk about the importance of “productive struggle” for students, referring to students being challenged but not overwhelmed. “That is the hardest learning curve for us and for students, but it is also what has caused the most success for us,” said Emily Perszyk, who teaches 7th grade ELA at Riverside Middle School. “It was hard to step out of our comfort zone and see kids struggle. Because as teachers we care, and we want to say, ‘Here you go,’ to help see them succeed.”

Students find the readings highly engaging. “In 7th grade, they love Code Talker Stories and they really love Animal Farm,” Perszyk said.

The coherence across classrooms and grade levels is also key. “I feel like there is a lot less backpedaling that I have to do because I know what they’ve had, and I know where they are headed, and it just makes life a lot easier in a way,” said 8th grade teacher Shelly Degrandt.

“Everything is done so intentionally that the kids are prepared,” said Perszyk.

Also helpful, the teachers say, is that the time for ELA instruction was increased from 56 minutes per day to 78 minutes.

Intensive PD Support 

Riverside Middle School opted for a curriculum package that includes a high level of support from Great Minds, which Graf sees as extremely helpful.

Put simply, the school signed up for all additional supports available from Great Minds. This involves a host of services over time that build teachers’ confidence and ability to deliver the curriculum effectively, with sessions on testing, writing, fluency, lesson study, and launch. Training for the leadership team is provided on guided observations to ensure the curriculum is delivered with fidelity. 

The combination of a high-quality and rigorous curriculum that is now delivered consistently across the middle grades is proving powerful. Perszyk explains how she sees this.

“Students know those paragraph structures. They know the formats of the lessons and the routines, and that’s been really cool, where it’s consistent across all of our grade levels,” she said. “They … are able to dive deeper into the actual content.”

But perhaps most important of all, the higher expectations that students are held to seem to be delivering results. All three teachers made this point in one way or another.

“Wit & Wisdom has pushed us to set those high standards for students and know what they are capable of,” said Perszyk. Fremont agreed: “We are treating them like they are smart and capable, and they rise to the occasion.”