Reading Recovery News Archives for 2005

SEPTEMBER 2005

Lovejoy Students Read by Mail
Des Moines Register - Des Moines, IA
By Laura Pieper
September 22, 2005

DES MOINES, IA – Pam Owens, a Reading Recovery teacher at Lovejoy Elementary School, sent books to about a dozen of her Reading Recovery students over the summer, and promised them she would send more books if they wrote back to her. Owens ended up sending more than 20 books through the mail, along with a letter and a stamped envelope for the child to write back.

OCTOBER, 2005

Jane Clarke honored with "Advocate for Excellence in Literacy" Award
Fort Bend/Southwest Sun - Fort Bend, TX
October 31, 2005

FORT BEND – Former Fort Bend ISD school board trustee Jane Clarke received the "Advocate for Excellence in Literacy" Award at the Billie J. Askew Reading Recovery/ Early Literacy Institute held in Dallas on Oct. 12-14. In recognition of Mrs. Clarke's outstanding service, the institute noted that "Jane Clarke served on the Fort Bend ISD School Board for 12 years. Recognizing the 'priceless nature of a child learning to read,' she has staunchly supported Reading Recovery/Descubriendo la Lectura from the first day she observed a lesson. Jane was a founding member of the district's Reading Recovery Advisory Board. Her leadership and advocacy efforts spread far beyond the Houston area with her active participation at the state and national levels as well."

Parents Participate in Reading Recovery at Steiner
Portales News-Tribune - Portales, NM
By Tony Parra
October 28, 2005

PORTALES, N.M. – Shelly Buzard and Robbie Ferguson, two of the six Reading Recovery teachers at Steiner Elementary, have extended an open invitation to family members to come and watch their child take part in one of the 30-minute Reading Recovery sessions at Steiner Elementary. They also encourage family involvement in the reading process when the children take books home. There are 26 Steiner Elementary students who started the Reading Recovery Program this fall.

Teachers Want Higher Goals for First-Graders
Portales News-Tribune - Portales, NM
By Tony Parra
October 28, 2005

PORTALES, N. M. – Portales teachers are using the Reading Recovery program to help a higher number of Steiner Elementary students go from below average reading levels to average or above average reading levels after at least 20 weeks of instruction. The Reading Recovery program, which is going into its seventh year at Steiner Elementary School, has served 113 students from Artesia, Dora, Portales and Clovis. Of those, 80 were in the first grade at Steiner Elementary.

USD Hosts Reading Recovery Conference in SF
(Must complete free registration to read article)
Yankton Daily Press - Yankton, SD
October 18, 2005

VERMILLION, S.D. – The University Of South Dakota School Of Education hosted the 11th annual Reading Recovery Regional Conference at the Sioux Falls Hotel and Convention Center Oct. 20-21. The theme of this year's conference was "a focus on early literacy." Keynote speakers were Dr. Robert Schwartz of Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., who is an expert in scientifically-based research and Dr. Blair Koefoed, of the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand, who is an international trainer specializing in semantics. A professional development session for teacher leaders from South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska was held on Oct. 19.

Reading Recovery Center Opens its Doors at UW-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison University Communications - Madison, WI
October 17, 2005

MADISON, WI – The UW-Madison School of Education launched its Reading Recovery Program with a reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Reading Recovery Research and Learning Center on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 pm.  "Reading Recovery serves as a safety net for low-achieving children and a supplement to a good classroom program," says Catherine Compton-Lilly, Reading Recovery trainer and assistant professor in the department of curriculum and instruction.

Program Helps District One Elementary Readers Improve
Tryon Daily Bulletin - Tryon, NC
By Joey Millwood
October 14, 2005

TRYON, N.C. – Reading levels in Spartanburg County Schools District One have jumped aboard an elevator that keeps going up with the help of a national program. The school district implemented the national Reading Recovery program in 1991 and officials say students have made great strides in reading levels in the program.

"It’s been very successful," Coordinator of Instruction and Elementary Curriculum Ann Greene said. "We find it is a great early literacy intervention program."

NOVEMBER 2005

Reading Recovery Program Boosts Skills
The Adrian Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI
By Justin R. Kalmes
November 30, 2005

ADRIAN - Zachary Battle, 6, uses magnetic letters to form the words “look” and “took” on a dry-erase board. Zachary is one of 45 to 50 elementary students this year who will benefit from the Adrian district's Reading Recovery program. The Adrian district implemented Reading Recovery 12 years ago and has been a training site for the past 10, said Kay Allingham, the program's teacher leader.

Promise Part of Long History of Giving
Kalamazoo Gazette - Kalamazoo, MI
By C Ricks
November 28, 2005

The Kalamazoo Promise isn't the only important philanthropic gift Kalamazoo Public Schools has gotten over the years, but it's certainly the largest, said KPS Superintendent Janice Brown. Brown said the district also has received a $1 million gift for the last three years to support its Reading Recovery program, a special effort that helps first-graders to master one of life's most valuable skills: reading.

W-JCC Wants to Write a New Chapter on Literacy
The Daily Press - Newport News, VA
By Laura McCandlish
November 23, 2005

JAMES CITY -- After 10 weeks working every day with her Reading Recovery teacher, Rose Syvarth now reads nearly on her grade level and writes sentences using close to 40 words on her own. First-graders slow to read in Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (the bottom 25 percent of the class) get daily one-on-one tutoring sessions for up to 20 weeks. Of the 146 W-JCC pupils in this Reading Recovery program last year, 104 improved enough to be on par with their average classmates, said Rose's tutor, Laura Hazelwood.

Reading Recovery
The Paris News - Paris, TX
By Mary Madewell
November 15, 2005

PARIS – Instructor Cindy Addy, a North Lamar certified trainer for 33 Reading Recovery teachers in nine Red River Valley schools, works with a first grader at Higgins elementary school. The first grader was struggling with early reading and writing but is quickly catching up with her classmates thanks to the one-on-one intervention provided by her Reading Recovery teacher. When she completes her lessons, she is expected to read on grade level.
North Lamar Independent School District brought the program to Paris more than a decade ago and offers masters level courses to teachers from nearby schools. The district has a training center complete with a one way mirror that allows college students to observe Reading Recovery instruction in progress “behind the glass.”

Reading Recovery Puts Young Readers on the Right Track
The Valley Breeze - Smithfield, Blackstone and Woonsocket, RI
By Suzanne Murphy
November 10, 2005

WOONSOCKET – “There are new educational programs being introduced all the time, but Reading Recovery is a tried and true program that has been successful at improving students’ reading and writing,” said Reading Recovery teacher leader Julie Francis. Statistics published by Rhode Island Reading Recovery support this statement. Fourteen school districts in Rhode Island participate in the program, and for the 2004-2005 school year, 79 percent of their low-achieving first graders were able to read at grade level after completing their 12 to 20 week Reading Recovery program. Beginning in 2006, Rhode Island Reading Recovery will study the long-term effectiveness of the Reading Recovery program by tracking the New England Common Assessment Program scores of former Reading Recovery students to see if they continue to meet grade level expectations in later years.

Education is First Line of Defense for Department of Defense Schools
The Education Innovator, U.S. Dept. of Education
Issue Number 40
November 1, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, the U.S. Department of Education announced the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth and eighth grade reading and math assessments, and DoDEA schools' performance was stellar. What is it about this school system that produces such positive results in student achievement? One aspect of the DoDEA system is the use of the Reading Recovery program with first graders for one-on-one reading instruction.

DECEMBER 2005

Math and Reading Recovery Programs Target Youngest Students
Black Hills Pioneer - Spearfish, SD
By Donna Smith
December 16, 2005
 
Reading recovery teacher Shannon Mollman gave a presentation to the Leads-Deadwood School Board, to help board members more fully understand how students are benefited through the Reading Recovery program.
"The goal of reading recovery is to dramatically reduce the number of first-grade students who have extreme difficulty learning to read and write and to reduce the cost of these learners to the district," said Mollman, who concentrates her efforts on first graders whose reading performance is in the lowest 20 percent. Superintendent Dan Leikvold praised the progress made this year by three new programs (Reading Recovery, Math Recovery, and the After School Program) designed "to help the littlest students in the district."

Reading Recovery Teacher Recognized as a Teacher of the Year
Shelby County Reporter - Columbiana, AL
By Fred Guarino
December 13, 2005

Angela Walker of Mt Laurel Elementary was named overall Shelby County Teacher of the Year award winner for her grade level for 2005-06. Walker, a third grade teacher at Mt Laurel, has been teaching for 15 years. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is enrolled in a doctoral program with reading specialist certification. She is a certified Reading Recovery teacher and holds national board certification. A presenter in the area of reading instruction and a mentor to other teachers, she is also president-elect of the Centrala Reading Council. She coordinates the volunteer “Reading Buddy” program. 

Recognition for Reading Recovery
New Zealand Ministry of Education
December 8, 2005

A detailed and comprehensive evaluation of Reading Recovery by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) has found that the program can work well for all the schools that elect to offer it and for students of all backgrounds. The evaluation report, “Reading Recovery in New Zealand: Uptake, implementation, and outcomes,” lists what it has found to be the strengths of Reading Recovery: The program is delivered by teachers with specialist training, who receive ongoing professional development to keep them up to date with new ideas, new research and new ways of doing things.
 

Central Bucks on the Road to Reading Success
Doylestown Patriot - Doylestown, PA
By Susan Abramson
December 1, 2005

DOYLESTOWN – Struggling early readers are receiving a helping hand in the Central Bucks School District these days, thanks to the Reading Recovery program. Reading Recovery began with a trial run in 2000 at both Cold Spring and Jamison elementary schools and was expanded to include all district elementary schools in 2001, said Paul Beltz, the district’s supervisor of reading education. Beltz noted that 200 of the district's 1,500 first graders are involved in Reading Recovery, adding that 70 percent of these students make a successful transition into the regular second-grade classroom.