Beachmont Elementary School is expanding its commitment to individualized learning through comprehensive math and reading intervention programs designed to boost student confidence and strengthen foundational skills. At a recent Family Coffee Hour, interventionists and administrators outlined how small-group support is helping students thrive without missing core classroom instruction.
Math interventionist Paul Norton emphasized that the goal of the program is to give students an added layer of support—not special education, but short-term, targeted help aligned to classroom learning.
“This is another opportunity to provide your children with extra support, specifically in math, to help them get a better grasp on what they’re doing in the classroom,” Norton explained.
The math intervention takes place during the school’s WIN (What I Need) block, ensuring students do not miss coursework with their general education teachers. Groups are intentionally kept small—no more than six students—so instruction can be paced carefully and adapted to individual needs.
“With a small group, I can slow things down. I can reteach things and make sure kids are getting exactly what they need at their pace,” Norton said.
Students are identified through a combination of screening, data collection, and teacher recommendations. Groups change throughout the year as students progress. The program uses a research-based curriculum that pinpoints specific skill gaps rather than reteaching entire units from scratch. Hands-on learning, visuals, and math games are core components of the intervention room.
“Being competitive, engaging in peer competition—it goes a long way to help them understand the math,” Morin added.
As the focus of the coffee hour shifted to literacy intervention, Principal Christopher Freisen connected the school’s academic supports to a broader statewide push to ensure all students develop strong literacy foundations by second grade. He noted that the “science of reading” requires repeated, targeted practice—something families often support at home without realizing how complex the process can be. Freisen credited the school’s reading interventionists, Carla Petruzziello and Christine Ferrara, for playing a pivotal role in student growth.
“Sometimes it’s not automatic, but it takes time. It’s building that confidence,” he said. “These two are such a huge support for student growth across the board.”
Petruzziello works primarily with kindergarten through third-grade students, helping them build early literacy skills such as letter identification, sound correspondence, concepts of print, blending and segmenting sounds, and mastering high-frequency words. She uses a structured, research-based phonics program that relies on explicit routines and significant repetition.
“It takes hundreds of exposures for these skills to stick,” she said. “We’re constantly reinforcing.”
Students are grouped by ability, based on beginning-of-year universal literacy assessments, classroom input, and ongoing progress monitoring. Instruction is continually adjusted “on the fly” when students need more practice or alternative approaches.
Ferrara supports fourth and fifth graders using Read Live, a program focused on building reading fluency, stamina, and comprehension through repeated readings and vocabulary work. Students choose their own stories, complete cold and hot timing reads to measure improvement, practice along with audio models, and answer comprehension questions.
“The goal is to see how much they can improve their score after three readings,” Ferrara explained. She and Petruzziello also step in with one-on-one support whenever students need help with phonics or vocabulary along the way.
Both reading interventionists emphasized how engaged students are during their sessions.
“They love coming with us,” Petruzziello said. “We’re excited to work with them every day.”
Together, Beachmont’s intervention programs reflect the school’s mission to meet students where they are and help them grow with confidence. With data-driven instruction, small-group attention, and enthusiastic educators, the school continues to build strong foundations in both literacy and math for all learners.
See more photos here!