Great Hearts Harveston Reimagines Intervention as a Daily Opportunity for Every Learner on Every Level

This article was written by Amanda McElfresh and originally published by The Advocate on June 29, 2025. View the original article here.

At Great Hearts Harveston, academic intervention is approached in a different way than at many other public-district schools. The academy’s program represents a daily commitment built into the fabric of every grade level and ensures that every student receives instruction tailored to their current needs and skills – whether they need extra support in math or reading, or are ready to be challenged.

Intervention sessions at Great Hearts Harveston take place during two designated blocks each school day and are guided by a dedicated curriculum. This ensures that students are not pulled away from other learning time and that academic growth is viewed as a continual, school-wide goal.

“Whether a child is below, on or above grade level, they receive targeted support that meets them where they are,” said Brooke Hernandez, one of the school’s interventionists.

During intervention, students are placed in small groups with peers at similar academic levels in math or reading. Each group of students who are below grade level receives focused instruction designed to strengthen foundational skills. Students who are on or above grade level receive lessons that align with their needs and push them to grow.

“It’s not a time to do homework,” Hernandez said. “It’s about building the specific skills they need to succeed in the classroom. It’s really heartening to watch them go from miscounting to solving full addition and subtraction problems. That lightbulb moment gives them so much confidence.”

The school’s data-driven approach plays a critical role in tracking student progress. Each child takes an assessment at the beginning of the year, with follow-up evaluations mid-year and at the end. This allows interventionists to adjust group placements and lesson plans based on real-time performance.

At the start of last school year, 33 first-grade students at Great Hearts Harveston were classified as below grade level. By the end of April, only one student remained in that category.

Elisa Hommel, ESL Coordinator and Lower School Math Interventionist, said that type of success is due to consistency and carefully-designed instruction.

“We use a dedicated intervention curriculum and plan in four-to-six-week cycles,” she said. “We begin by modeling concepts using manipulatives—like blocks or chocolate bars—so students can grasp abstract concepts in a concrete way. Then we move into visual models like number lines or charts before progressing to fluency and independent problem-solving.”

The intervention model also helps address skill gaps that may have formed before students enrolled at Great Hearts Harveston. Hommel said some students arrive in later grades with lingering gaps in basic math concepts like place value or number sense. Interventionists target these gaps directly, giving students the tools they need to succeed.

“We’re very intentional in how we work with students,” Hommel said. “We don’t talk about grades or scores. We say they’re working on certain skills, and when they master those skills, they will move on to a different group and learn new skills.”

The success of the intervention program can be seen not only in assessment scores, but in student behavior and confidence. Both Hernandez and Hommel said teachers have told them about students who are more engaged during class and more active participants after just a few weeks of intervention – whether they are advanced students who are pushing themselves academically or students who were previously below grade level who exhibit new enthusiasm and confidence after mastering concepts.

“I think that shows the success that happens when every student has a place to go each day to grow their abilities, no matter where they start,” Hernandez said.

The teachers and leadership team at Great Hearts Harveston are also heavily involved in the intervention program. There are regular meetings among stuff to discuss student progress, address concerns and share updates. Teachers often speak to interventionists one-on-one to talk about specific students, especially if they notice improved skills or continuing knowledge gaps.

Parents are also kept informed, with conferences at the beginning and end of the year, and regular updates throughout on student development. Hommel said some parents also reach out to request at-home resources to reinforce the skills their children are learning during intervention.

“Sometimes parents are hesitant in the beginning because they think of intervention as being outside of a classroom setting. Once we explain that this isn’t taking away from their regular schoolwork and that every child is receiving some type of intervention, that eases a lot of the worry,” Hernandez said. “They realize that all kids here are getting what they need, and then they get excited about it.”

Great Hearts Harveston is a tuition-free K-9 charter school in Baton Rouge. It will add one grade level each year until it is a full K-12 academy. Visit greatheartsharveston.org to learn more.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.