Dr. Jan Hasbrouck Visit Supports Reading in Lower School

Researcher, educational consultant, and author Dr. Jan Hasbrouck visited University School of Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 30. Hasbrouck spent the day working with Lower School teachers to use and identify the right classroom data to guide reading instruction and meet the needs of each learner.

Hasbrouck’s work is grounded in evidence-based practices that have been carefully studied and shown to produce valid and reliable results. She researches reading fluency and creates classroom integration techniques that can be easily implemented by teachers.

“Dr. Hasbrouck reminded us that no single score can tell the whole story about a reader,” said Sarah Dugan, Lower School Academic Resource Center literacy specialist and Literacy department chair. “Instead, we combine oral reading fluency with other observations and curriculum-based assessments to make thoughtful instructional decisions. With her guidance, we are refining our next steps for both whole-group lessons and small-group instruction so that each student gets the right support and the right level of challenge.”

This visit built on skills teachers gained in a virtual session with Hasbrouck earlier this fall, and directly supports this year’s school-wide focus on differentiation. It gave our teachers a valuable chance to reconnect with an expert in a small-group setting where specific questions could be discussed and answered. Teachers also had a unique opportunity to use Hasbrouck’s reading assessment tool and then meet with her, the researcher who created it, to talk through practical implementation and next steps. 

“The experience was extremely positive—many teachers shared that they wished they could have spent the entire day learning with her,” said Dugan. Hasbrouck’s visit was supported by a USM Think Big grant, an endowed fund supported by generous donors.