A third of the freshman class had below average reading scores on the first progress monitoring assessment (PM1) in September for the new Florida Assessment of Student Thinking. Literacy coach Ann Cook is pulling those freshmen from their study halls to meet in small groups to speak about strategies to improve their reading and test scores.

“(I am here to) support the teachers and support Pompano’s academic excellence,” Cook said.

During the meetings, Cookdiscusses with the students about their strengths and weaknesses. Then they develop a plan to strengthen students’ reading skills.

“(Take) a daily dose of reading, read on a regular basis, be an active reader, highlighting, underlining, and annotating the material for a deeper comprehension, and reading complex text” is the most effective advice for improving reading skills, Cook said.

After 35 years working at various Broward County Public Schools, Cook is glad to be at this one. 

“It’s in my neighborhood, and I enjoy running into students while I’m shopping, dining, and traveling around the community,” she said. 

Cook said she enjoys working with students from this school because of their growth mindset and their desire to be successful.

“It’s very rewarding to be surrounded by students that work hard and care about their futures.”