Singing our Way into Fluency: Carlo Franzblau talks about his Sing Out and Read program: An interview conducted by Dr. Sam Bommarito

One of the recurring themes in my blog this summer is using music to develop comprehension and fluency for readers of all ages. The underlying idea of Carlo Franzblau’s project is rooted in the research of Dr. Tim Rasinski, a world-class expert in the area of fluency. Dr. Rasinski has created a huge base of peer-reviewed research demonstrating the efficacy of repeated reading LINK, LINK. Rasinski recently co-authored the book The Fluency Development Lesson: Closing The Reading Gap LINK. The foundation of the FDL (Fluency Development Lesson) is promoting repeated reading. Students are motivated to carry out the repeated reading by the educational practice of reading to perform. Carlo’s project is one good example of doing just that. The results Carlo has gotten in the 20-plus years of this project are just amazing. For example, here is an excerpt from a White Paper done by Tim Rasinski and his colleagues at Kent State University:

Findings – Summer 2020 and Summer 2021 In both Summer implementations, children who finished 2nd grade and were expected to start 3rd grade in the fall (i.e. rising 3rd graders) were recruited. All of the children met the definition of struggling reader. The assessment that was used to determine reading gains is the Oral Reading Fluency Score (ORF) which is expressed in Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM). The children were assessed at the beginning and end of the summer. In both cases the students who completed the FLiP program gained more than 20 WCPM over the three-month summer period. This is a very large increase over three months, given that one full year’s gain for struggling readers at this grade level is 19 WCPM. Said another way, these children gained more than a full year in reading level in three months’ time. This gain is remarkable for another reason. Normed data shows that the expectation for these children is to actually lose approximately 13 WCPM over the Summer.   Findings – Spring ‘21  A group of 45 students (3rd graders) used the FLiP program from February through April of 2021. All students came from Title 1 schools and were significantly behind in reading. The assessment that was used was the MAP Reading Test (from  NWEA). The assessments were administered in December and May of the 2020/2021 school year.  

Evidence of Efficacy 

Per the norms published by NWEA, struggling readers are expected to increase 2 points on the MAP score during the Spring semester. Children who completed the FLiP program gained  7.5  points or  nearly  4  times  the  expected  amount. (bolding mine)  When  compared  to  the expectation for these students over a 12-month period, the FLiP children gained  ¾ of a year (75%) during the Spring Semester.

How did such amazing gains, 4 times the expected MAP Score gains, come to be? During his interview Carlo described how the project evolved. Its origins were serendipitous. He was trying to teach himself to stay in tune as he sang. He developed a software program to help himself do that. At the same time he was working with the software, he also discovered that readers with reading problems seemed to improve when they used the program. He outlines how he first used a for-profit company to market the software. Then, in 2018 Carlo and his wife, Beth, founded the literacy nonprofit Sing Out and READ.  The software program has been adapted over the 20-plus years since it was first created. Listen to the interview for details about that.   

Background About Carlo and Sing Out and READ

Carlo worked for 30 years with his father and his sister in their Tampa-based business, Thompson Cigar Company. After the Franzblau family sold that business in 2018, Carlo and his wife, Beth, founded the literacy nonprofit Sing Out and READ. 

Sing Out and READ has grown quickly in three years, going from serving 50 families to more than 500 in the last 12-month period. SOAR’s short-term goal is to “move the needle” by reducing the 30+ percent point Reading Achievement Gap for communities of color in Pinellas County. 

Carlo was born and raised in Tampa. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Before working at Thompson Cigar, Carlo worked at Paramount Pictures and The American Express Company. Carlo is the holder of three US patents for software technology. As a hobby, Carlo plays bass guitar and Tampa-based classic rock cover band south of Kennedy.

On behalf of Sing Out and READ, Carlo was honored to accept the Diversity & Empowerment Education Award from the Pinellas Urban League and grateful for the opportunity to catalyze change and growth in reading literacy among at-risk youth in Pinellas County and beyond

Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/WeLpSREXZUI

Here is a link to the Sing Out and READ website. Feel free to explore the website. Pay special attention to the Family Literacy Project. LINK

Carlo also provided these three links explaining important ideas he talked about during the interview:

1. “SOAR’s Family Literacy Project (FLiP) is a Game changer for at-risk kids”-  LINK.   
2. How does the FLiP program boost reading skills for a full year in just 12 weeks? – LINK   
3. Testimonial from a single mom living in public housing. –LINK:  

Final Thoughts About This Interview

This interview is part of a series of interviews I’ve done with members of Ann Kay’s ZAP the Gap group. Music is a way (not the only way) to motivate students to do repeated reading. Repeated reading is a powerful tool for developing fluency and comprehension. This tool’s impact can be enhanced greatly by carefully scaffolding instruction. In the case of Carlo’s program, that includes developing vocabulary and checking for comprehension. His program exemplifies how FDL (The Fluency Development Lesson) can be adapted into educational settings. Those who live in the Tampa Bay area can learn more about using the program on the website. Carlo indicated that those living outside the Tampa Bay area can contact him directly at the following e-mail address: carlo@singoutandread.org. By the way, I’m working with a student this summer using a language experience approach. That is where the student dictates their own stories, and the teacher uses them as the basis for instruction. I’m adding Carlo’s FLP (Family Literacy Project) to that instruction. You’ll be hearing more about that at the end of this summer. In addition, in two weeks I’m having Carlos back along with some folks who are currently using the program, so you can find out even more about the nuts and bolts of this award-winning program. So, until next week,

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Happy Reading and Writing.

Dr. Sam Bommarito (aka, the guy in the middle taking flak from all sides)

Copyright 2024 by Dr. Sam Bommarito. Views/interpretations expressed here are solely this author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other person or organization.