From Struggling to Striving

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From Struggling to Striving

  • July 30, 2025
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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~written by Erin Baller, LSEM teacher at St. John Lutheran School in Rochester, MI~

At the start of 5th grade, Maria (name changed for privacy) could barely read beyond simple three-letter words. She struggled to sound out words, lacked confidence, and often sat quietly during reading time, trying to hide the fact that she couldn’t keep up. Her reading skills placed her in the 1st percentile nationally, and she was reading at a kindergarten level.

But Maria was determined—and she wasn’t alone. With consistent support through LSEM services and her own hard work, she began to build foundational reading skills one piece at a time. Phonics, decoding, and fluency were explicitly taught and reinforced in targeted, individualized sessions.

Maria has made extraordinary progress. She is reading at a 3rd grade level, and her test scores soared to the 24th percentile—a gain of over 20 percentile points.

Her journey is a powerful reminder that with the right support and a resilient spirit, students can rewrite their futures—one word at a time