Reading Recovery News Archives for 2008

JANUARY 2008

Outgoing YME superintendent proud of 34 years as educator
West Central Tribune - Willmar, MN
January 21, 2008
(Free registration required)

GRANITE FALLS — Retiring Yellow Medicine East School District Superintendent Dwayne Strand says he’s enjoyed his work in education during the past 34 years...

“We’ve had a board that’s really supported a lot of the initiatives. They’ve been willing to put some money into programs that have been good for kids: Reading Recovery certainly has been one of the hallmark programs that we’re most proud of. That will continue,’’ he said.
 

Bristol Charities’ Allocation of Funds for New Zealand Reading Recovery Scheme at St Ursula’s
Bristol, United Kingdom
January 21, 2008

St Ursula’s School is delighted to announce it has been given funding for the extended provision of the New Zealand Reading Recovery Scheme.
 

North Drive teacher has second play published
Goldsboro News Argus - Goldsboro, NC
January 18,2 008

A reading teacher at North Drive Elementary School has had his second children's script published.

..."Mr. Brown currently teaches Reading Recovery, Guided Reading, and Readers Theater," she said. "His ability to create and apply effective reading strategies and exercises helps his students become excited about reading, while strengthening their reading abilities."
 

Australian Educators Learn from UMaine-Based Literacy Partnership Coaches
University of Maine Email News - Orono, ME
January 11, 2008

ORONO – Five literacy educators from Queensland, Australia arrived in Bangor this week to learn first-hand about the work that the Maine Literacy Partnership (MLP) provides to Maine schools.

...The visit was arranged as a result of a relationship between Mary Rosser, director for professional development and a UMaine trainer for Reading Recovery within the College of Education and Human development, and a former colleague who is part of the visiting Australian team.
 

Mengerink, Morrow join VWCS board of ed
Times Bulletin - Van Wert, OH
January 10, 2008

Two VWCS teachers, Jennifer Arend and Donna Clark, gave an educational impact presentation to the board about "Reading Recovery," a short-term tutoring intervention program intended to serve the lowest achieving (bottom 20 percent) first-grade students.

"Two years ago, the district looked at what we could do to make a difference for kids who were struggling to read," said Schilb. "Looking at the research, it became apparent that Reading Recovery was a model that we were interested in implementing."

Arend and Clark reported the district has had "good success rates" since implementing the program. During the first year of implementation in VWCS, about 65 percent of students successfully completed and exited the program.

It was also reported that research shows for every $3 dollars invested in the program, $5 dollars is saved by not having to have students remain in or be placed in other special education programs or other special services.
 

FEBRUARY 2008

Look Mom, I Can Read!
Shippensburg University Magazine - Shippensburg, PA
Winter 08.
Daniel Gomez

“What we wish to stress,” said Associate professor Janet Bufalino, “is individual attention given to each student. …First grade is our focus because this is a key developmental stage and children benefit if they can catch up earlier in their schooling.” To date, Bufalino has trained more than seventy teacher-leaders who have in turn trained more than 2,000 Reading Recovery teachers – affecting the lives of thousands of children. (Printable article)
 

MARCH 2008

Reading Recovery Recovers, Sort Of
The Literacy Professional
By Jack Cassady
Winter 2008, p. 3

Reading Recovery, an intensive one-on-one tutoring program for struggling first graders, had fallen out of favor in recent years because of its expense and (supposedly) because of the lack of scientific evidence-based research on its effectiveness. Reportedly, federal officials tried to discourage states and districts from using Reading Recovery in schools that received federal Reading First monies. However, the federal What Works Clearinghouse (also dubbed the "nothing works" clearinghouse) found that Reading Recovery was the only supplemental program of the 36 reviewed to have positive effects across all four of the domains in the review - alphabetics, fluency, comprehension, and general reading achievement. The federal What Works Clearinghouse, which was formed in 2002 to take the place of the ERIC clearinghouses, only sanctions programs that have rigorous scientific research support.
 

Reading Recovery helps young readers thrive
Eccentric Newspaper - Livonia, MI
By Larry Ruehlen
March 27, 2008

Eric Gal, 6, once guessed at words he didn't know. Now he has all kinds of ways to figure them out and he is having more fun reading.

"Everything was there for him, he just had to pull it all together," said Lori Burke, a Reading Recovery teacher at Walled Lake Consolidated Schools' Pleasant Lake Elementary in West Bloomfield. "Now he's engaged in the story and laughs when he reads."

Eric is one of dozens of children at the school who get extra help through Reading Recovery. Developed in New Zealand 30 years ago, Reading Recovery now also operates in most states in the U.S. Lynn Mangold, Walled Lake's Reading Recovery coordinator, said the program is paying big dividends as students get help early in their educational careers that establishes the foundation for all future learning.
 

Stafford names teachers of year
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park, NJ
by Jessica Infante
March 27, 2008

STAFFORD — The township school district named Beth Bradley, Bernadette Dreher, Johanna Gentleman, Erika Leming and Tracy Osborne as 2007-08 Teachers of the Year on March 13.

Bradley is the Reading Recovery teacher at Oxycocus Elementary School and has been teaching for nearly two decades; nine of them have been in the township.

"This is my seventeenth year teaching," Bradley said. "I couldn't be more honored."

She said one of the thrills of the award is that it comes from her peers.

"Having your colleagues select you makes it that much more special," Bradley said. "It's the icing on the cake."
 

Randy Overbeck: Cuts for Reading Recovery don’t serve state’s children
Dayton Daily News - Dayton, OH
By Randy Overbeck
March 24, 2008

In this commentary, a local school official questions the priorities used by the Ohio Department of Education in making recent budget cuts. While most cuts ranged from 3 to 4 percent, the Reading Recovery training network was cut 20% for its first-year biennial budget. Dr. Overbeck points out that Reading Recovery is the only program to receive high marks from the U.S. Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse, while programs with poor or no ratings emerged unscathed.

“For those of us in the field – actually devoted to serving children on the ground – this is but one more example of questionable decision-making by the state superintendent and her staff,” writes Dr. Overbeck.
 

Continuing Diane Holum's legacy
The Independent - Marshall, MN
by Deb Gau
March 24, 2008

GRANITE FALLS — Teachers in the Yellow Medicine East School District were gathered for staff development on Thursday morning when they received the news that fellow teacher Diane Holum had died. When faced with the choice to take some time out or continue with staff development, YME Elementary Principal Stacy Hinz said, they decided to continue. It was what Ms. Holum would have wanted.

Minnesota educators and friends have created the Minnesota Literacy Scholarship in honor of Diane Holum, a Reading Recovery teacher leader. Ms. Holum, who died Wednesday after a fight with multiple myeloma, was a mentor and trainer for many area teachers .

The Minnesota Literacy Scholarship will provide funds to allow teachers to continue their professional development by attending the National Reading Recovery & Classroom Literacy Conference. Contributions can be made online by going to the Reading Recovery Council of North America website. Enter "Minnesota Literacy" in the special instructions sections to direct the donation.
 

Ocean City approves $42M. school budget that hikes tax levy 4 percent
Press of Atlantic City - Atlantic City, NJ
March 20, 2008

The Ocean City school budget hearing included testimony from one parent who spoke about Reading Recovery’s benefit for his children. “That Reading-Recovery program has been essential in getting my daughters on the right track with reading," he said as his daughters, Nadia and Hanna Mae, looked on.
 

Community Business Briefs
Carroll County Comet - Delphi, IN
March 19, 2008

SHARON BROTHERS, a veteran teacher of the Delphi Community School Corporation, was a panelist for a recent Educational Testing Service national standard setting for reading. She was chosen for this national panel when she was a first grade teacher and a Reading Recovery teacher at Camden Elementary School.

During her time at Camden, she was instrumental in beginning the Reading Recovery program and in assisting other teachers to collaborate and build a consistently strong reading program. Her efforts, along with those of the entire staff, led to 4-Star School status for two years and qualifying scores in English/Language Arts for two additional years.
 

Reading Recovery Grounds Successful Literacy Program in Live Oak School District
Spotlight - Santa Cruz County Office of Education, CA, p. 3
By Bonnie Thurston
Winter, 2007

Nothing is more important to student achievement than high quality teaching. Successful school districts invest in programs that attract and retain excellent teachers. Live Oak School District has worked for many years to bring theory and practice together through teacher professional development, study groups, and coaching. At the heart of the professional development program is the district’s ongoing commitment to the Reading Recovery Training Program, an early intervention program for struggling young readers who have fallen behind their peers. Since 1994, Live Oak School District has trained not only all Title I teachers and kindergarten teachers, but also several first and second-grade teachers, special education teachers, all three elementary principals, and even the superintendent in Reading Recovery methods.
 

How Tutoring Fares Against NCLB
District Administration, p. 78
By Carla Thomas McClure
March 2008

The Research Corner analyzes the evidence for the effectiveness of tutoring provided under NCLB and finds the research base is small. The article notes Reading Recovery’s effectiveness.

“One-on-one tutoring is also integral to Reading Recovery, a research-based program that targets the lowest-achieving readers in first grade. In 2007 the What Works Clearinghouse gave the program a rare thumbs-up: Based on five studies that met its standards for rigor, the clearinghouse noted positive effects on general reading achievement and alphabetic skills and potentially positive effects on fluency and comprehension.”
 

Teachers' efforts recognized
Tri City Herald - Kennewick, WA
by Herald staff
March 13, 2008

Dora Noble, a Reading Recovery teacher and literacy coach at Robert Frost Elementary School in Pasco, Washington is one of ten winners to receive a Crystal Apple Award. She was the first teacher in Pasco to earn national Board Certification and is an executive member of the Washington State Educators Standards Board. The honorees are selected from a pool of nominees submitted by educators and community members. They get crystal apples, $1,000, and other prizes. Ten educators from the Mid-Columbia will be honored today with Crystal Apple awards for going the extra mile for their students.

Jordan Creek effort helps with reading
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines, IA
By Micholyn Fajen
March 13, 2008

Jordan Creek Elementary School is testing a pilot of the Reading Recovery program to help students on the journey to lifelong reading success.

The early intervention reading program for first-graders is used in several schools in the metro area. The West Des Moines school district is training five teachers to assist students who need a boost.
 

Reading Recovery program to be restored
Allentown Morning Call - Allentown, PA
by Steve Esack
March 6, 2008

The Bethlehem Area School administration said Tuesday that it would be restoring Reading Recovery, a short-term, one-to-one reading intervention program for first-graders. But to save the licensed program, which costs $680,424, the district may have to make slight staffing changes to some of the 40 trained Reading Recovery teachers, said Mary Katona, assistant to the superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Joanne LoFaso, one of the district's literacy and English language arts coordinators, was happy the district was keeping Reading Recovery.
 

Ingram teacher honored by Chamber
Kerrville Daily Times - Kerrville, TX
by Jeff Wright
March 4, 2008

Every school day for the past 12 years, Cindy Faust has taught Ingram Elementary students to be better readers and writers.

She spends lots of one-on-one time with first- and second-graders as part of an intensive, 20-week Reading Recovery Program.

“She can help you with reading and writing. ... She helps us say the words,” said one first-grader named Kelby.

Cindy recently was named 2007 Outstanding Educator of the Year by the West Kerr County Chamber of Commerce.
 

Support group's contribution to area students is very much appreciated
The Tennessean - Nashville, TN
by Jill Speering
March 4, 2008

Matthew had difficulty learning to read and write. After he repeated kindergarten and spent a half-year in first grade, his private school suggested further testing for special education.

Matthew's dad felt hopeless; but he enrolled Matthew in a Metro school, and within a month, Matthew began Reading Recovery, a first-grade intervention program for students who have difficulty learning to read and write.

After 20 weeks of individualized instruction that continued through the summer, Matthew tested at grade level in reading by the beginning of second grade. Today, Matthew continues to read at grade level in third grade.
 

Inman Elementary earns state reading award for taking kids on wonderful journey
Spartanburg Herald Journal - Spartanburg, SC
by Ashlei N. Stevens
March 3, 2008

Inman Elementary School was recently recognized with a statewide Exemplary Reading Award. The literacy-based school serves 525 K-3 students including more than half who live in poverty and who are still learning English. First graders who need extra help get one-to-one tutoring through Reading Recovery.

APRIL 2008

Kay Powell is LCS Crystal Bell Award recipient
Le Mars Daily Sentinel - Le Mars, IA
by Beverly Van Buskirk
April 29, 2008

A Le Mars Community Schools elementary reading teacher has been named the Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell Award recipient for 2008.

Kay Powell, a Title I Reading/Reading Recovery teacher at Franklin and Kissinger Elementary schools was presented with the award Friday morning (April 25) during an assembly at Franklin Elementary School.

The Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell award is co-sponsored by the LCSD Foundation and the LCS Alumni Association, and is presented annually to honor outstanding teachers who have dedicated their careers to the education of children.
 

School board lauds winners of Governor's Award
Packet Online - Princeton, NJ
April 24, 2008

Six Hopewell Valley teachers recently were honored by the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education. One teacher recognized is Alice Rosso, reading support teacher, Toll Gate Grammar. A long-time nursery school teacher before joining the Valley faculty nearly two decades ago, Ms. Rosso taught kindergarten and second grade at Toll Gate Grammar before becoming the school’s teacher of Reading Recovery and English as a Second Language (ESL) in 1999.
 

Four educators to enter Lebanon City Schools Hall of Fame
Lebanon Western Star - Lebanon, OH
By Ryan Cook
April 24, 2008

Four teachers with a combined 100 years of experience will be honored Wednesday, April 30, as they are inducted into the Lebanon City Schools Hall of Fame.

The teachers being honored this year are John Zimkus, Cathy Howell, Doris Nell and Ellen Donisi. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. in the Berry Intermediate School auditorium.

Donisi’s personal interest in finding out how kids learn to read led her to the Reading Recovery program, which allowed her to work one-on-one with students, implementing specific lessons for each student, as well as observing other teachers and their methods.

“I learned (that teaching children to read) really is rocket science,” she said. “It was really rewarding and intense.”
 

Editorial: Cheers
Traverse City Record Eagle - Traverse City, MI
04/21/2008

Cheers! -- To Traverse City Area Public Schools for adopting new strategies to help improve student test scores in both writing and math. The programs include support programs like READ 180, a class for fourth- through 12th-graders, and Reading Recovery, a one-on-one session for first-graders. New math materials used in some elementary classrooms offer additional practice, larger numbers in calculations and parent resources. Officials said textbook publishers are adjusting their books to match the new curriculum.
 

Central Lee School District to drop block scheduling next year
Fort Madison Daily Democrat - Fort Madison, IA
April 17, 2008

In the midst of ongoing financial problems in the Central Lee School District, several initiatives may see increased scrutiny, including Reading Recovery. Reading Recovery…“is an intervention for the lowest performing readers,” said Deanna Smith, first grade teacher at Central Lee K-8. "We use daily statistical data to move students along rapidly.”

In 2002-2003 when Central Lee first began using the Reading Recovery program (though it wasn’t yet fully implemented), only 63 percent of their first graders were proficient in reading compared to the 78 percent the State of Iowa saw as its average. In 2006-2007 Central saw 87.3 percent proficiency, versus the state average of 78 percent.
 

Reading Recovery helps kids read at grade level — and beyond
Nashville City Paper - Nashville, TN
By Amy Griffith
April 15, 2008

Those who participate in Nashville’s public school Reading Recovery program tend to be passionate.

“We’ve got so much evidence that this works,” said Jill Speering, the district’s Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, based at Cora Howe Elementary School. “It will change the direction of kids’ lives.”

The program — which is currently administered at 13 Metro schools — targets first-graders with the lowest reading scores. The program is small, but of the 114 kids who received one-on-one Reading Recovery tutoring in the last school year, 72 percent went on to pass the district’s reading benchmarks.
 

Lynn Smith Named Top Teacher of the Week
FOX17
Nashville, TN

Reading Recovery Teacher Lynn Smith was named Fox 17 Nashville's Top Teacher of the Week. Lynn is a second year Reading Recovery teacher at John Pittard Elementary. Teachers are nominated by their principal to the Tennessee Department of Education.
 

Teacher: Reading program pays off
Lebanon Daily News - Lebanon, PA
By Chris Sholly
April 4, 2008

PALMYRA — Reading Recovery programs have been a success in Palmyra schools, teachers told the Palmyra Area School District board of directors last week.

“Reading Recovery does work,” said Elaine Stine, Reading Recovery teacher leader. “No other early reading intervention (program) measured up.”

She said the program helped to improve students’ skills in fluency, comprehension, reading achievement, so they can catch up to appropriate levels in reading for their age group. Students show measurable progress in reading just weeks after starting the Reading Recovery program, she added.
 

Lynette DeGraffenried selected for Leadership Preparation Program
Nebo News - Spanish Fork, UT
By admin
April 2, 2008
 
Lynette DeGraffenried, at Wilson Elementary, has been selected by the Nebo School District Board of Education to be the Nebo participant for the Leadership Preparation Program (LPP) for BYU for the year 2008-2009 school year.

Mrs. DeGraffenried was teacher of the year for Wilson Elementary and Nebo Reading Council Reading Teacher of the year both in 2004. She taught first grade for five years, transitional first grade for one year, Title I for four years and Reading Recovery for five years all at Wilson Elementary.
 

MAY 2008

Reading program continues into summer
Frederick County Public Schools will be sending books after term ...
The Winchester Star - Winchester, VA
May 30, 2008

Winchester — Frederick County Public Schools students who participated in special reading programs during the 2007-2008 school year will be receiving books from the school division throughout the summer.

The initiative is part of an effort to encourage students to read while they are out of school for the summer.

Title I Reading Support teachers and Reading Recovery® teachers recently assembled Summer Reading Through-the-Mail packets that will be sent to more than 500 students in June, July, and August.
 

Teachers Hired
Belmond Independent - Belmond, IA
May 29, 2008

Concerned about recent reading test scores, the Belmond-Klemme school board voted earlier this month to hire two new reading teachers.

Krista Dickman and Nicole Gretillat were hired to implement new Reading Recovery programs. Dickman is currently a fourth grade teacher at SCMT, and Gretillat is a middle school teacher in Fort Dodge.
 

North Drive teacher's reading script published
Goldsboro News Argus - Goldsboro, NC
May 28, 2008

A reading teacher at North Drive Elementary School has been published for the third time.

Gregory Brown's third children's script published by an educational publishing company, featuring an election-based storyline.

… "One of my goals when writing my stories is to represent minority groups that are not seen in children's literature," said Brown, who currently teaches Reading Recovery, and Readers Theater at North Drive.

Fort Mill to hire fewer teachers
Fort Mills Times - Fort Mill, SC
May 27, 2008

The budget crunch brought on by the way South Carolina now funds public education will likely mean more students in many classes across the district.

…"From our perspective we have a lot of quality initiatives in place, and that support will allow our ratios to increase some," Epps said. "But when you get into the mid and high 20s in elementary schools it is difficult."

Reading Recovery teachers at the elementary school level is one example of the quality initiatives. Teachers trained in reading strategies for weak readers work with students in small groups or one-on-one to improve their reading skills.
 

Reading Recovery Graduation
North Texas e-News - TX
May 25, 2008

Sherman I.S.D. is excited and thankful to announce this year’s Reading Recovery graduates. Photos of students and teachers are highlights of this Texas story.
 

Hauer named teacher of the year
Enterprise-Record - Chico, CA
May 20, 2008

CHICO — Cil Hauer, a kindergarten teacher at Neal Dow School for 25 years, was chosen Educator of the Year for 2008 by Beta Tau chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa.

Hauer and three other teachers began an innovative "Program B" that operated in K through fourth-grade classes. She was one of two people in the state to be trained in the Reading Recovery program in 1990 and received her certification in this early intervention program from New Zealand in 1992.
 

Reading programme hailed
TeleText - Scotland, United Kingdom

Youngsters with poor reading skills are making "striking" progress thanks to a Government initiative, a report found.

The Reading Recovery programme provides children with intensive one-on-one tailored reading lessons with specialist reading teachers.
 

Reading program touts first-grader's achievement
Aiken Standard (subscription) - Aiken, SC
by Rob Novit
May 19, 2008

Kemar Bartley is 6, and his effervescent smile reveals the missing front teeth that every kid experiences.

In the past few months, the Greendale Elementary School first-grader has astounded and thrilled Principal Becky Koelker and the school's two teachers of Reading Recovery, a program for struggling readers in first grade.

When Kemar was tested for reading skills last fall, he recorded a zero, which meant his literacy was virtually non-existent. By the end of the first semester, he had reached a Level 7, still well short of the Level 18 that first-graders are expected to achieve by the end of the year.

As scheduled previously, Kemar began Reading Recovery training with teacher Carolyn Thompson. She would spend 30 minutes a day, a total of 66 lessons with the little boy, initially determining his strengths and building on them.
 

Reading Recovery grads
News-Leader.com - Springfield, MO
May 14, 2008

Nixa- Six Nixa teachers have worked with individual students for approximately 15 weeks with 80 percent of the students discontinuing the lesson series at or above grade level.

Graduates are Rena Comer, Shannon Winkler, Leslie Husk, Krista Wilson, Jonna Simcox and RR teacher leader Cindy Owens.
 

Book fund brings joy to area students
The Exponent - Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
May 12, 2008

When Susan Nierstheimer, an assistant professor in the College of Education, was ill with cancer in 2005, she told her friends and family that she wanted to get books into the hands of children.

Three years after Nierstheimer's death, the Susan Nierstheimer Book Fund continues to fulfill that wish by distributing books to children in Reading Recovery, an early intervention program for first-graders who struggle with reading.

Nierstheimer had done research on Reading Recovery and was passionate about the issue of children's literacy.

"She was just a huge proponent," said Susan Gunderson, a continuing lecturer in the College of Education and a friend of Nierstheimer's. "She felt like every child can learn how to read, that there has to be a way."
 

New programme shown to 'dramatically' improve children's literacy
National Union of Teachers website:
www.teachers.org.uk - United Kingdom
May 12, 2008

Pupils struggling with reading are benefiting from a new scheme that sees them improving their literacy with one-to-one support from specially-trained teachers.

Under the Reading Recovery programme, not only are children catching-up with their peers after a relatively short amount of time, but they are outperforming the national average for their age group within two years, according to research.

Tailored lessons for half-an-hour a day for between 12 and 20 weeks are provided to six-year-olds who have shown literacy problems.

Part of the government's Every Child a Reader programme, the initiative has been hailed a great success.
 

'Tuition can help pupils learn to read'
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
May 9, 2008

Children unable to read at the start of primary school overtake their peers within two years after being given intensive one-to-one tuition, a report claims.

Six-year-olds make "striking" progress with half an hour of specialist coaching every day, it found.

Ministers said the Reading Recovery scheme would now be extended to 30,000 pupils – about one in 20 – after a successful trial at inner-city primary schools.
 

Worst readers shoot to the top of class after one-to-one tuition
Times Online - United Kingdom
by Alexandra Frean
May 9, 2008

Children who have failed to master the basics of reading by the age of 6 are becoming the best in their class after only a few hours of specialist one-to-one tuition under a programme to be extended to all primary schools in England.

The 30 hours of specialist teaching over 12 weeks helped children who were two years behind their classmates to catch up. Two years later they had overtaken them.

As well as improving progress in reading at four times the normal rate, the government-backed Every Child a Reader programme is also bringing about improvements in writing and motivation.

Jean Gross, director of the programme, said that, contrary to some expectations, the positive effects of the scheme were still felt by children long after the specialist help had ended.
 

Research: Poorest readers go on to outperform national average
ATL Education News - United Kingdom
May 9, 2008

Young children who started out as the poorest readers in their class can go on to perform better than the national average within two years, according to research by the Institute of Education into the Every Child a Reader project.

The project involves four to five months of one-to-one tuition for about 30 minutes a day by specially trained Reading Recovery teachers.

Some 42 schools in ten inner London boroughs took part in the project. In each class of six-year-olds, the eight poorest readers were selected to follow the special tuition programme and their progress was compared to a group of children of similar ability and backgrounds who received different tuition.
 

Reading scheme 'improves children's ability'
ATL Education News - United Kingdom
May 9, 2008

A recent study by the Institute of Education has found that a Government-funded reading scheme is helping children outperform national reading standards, it has emerged.

The programme, which involves personalised tuition and tailored reading coaching by specially trained teachers half an hour a day for 12 to 20 weeks, is making significant improvements, the study found.

According to a BBC report, a survey of some 500 children has found that those on the Reading Recovery sheme caught up with their age group and often surpassed the national average within two years.
 

Getting readers back on track
BBC News - United Kingdom
by Hannah Goff
May 9, 2008

When Johnny – not his real name – was six, he could not say the sounds of the alphabet or read a page of a book.

His Reading Recovery teacher Maggie Morgan says he could do little more than recognise his name in writing.

“He was quite bright, but he must have missed out somewhere along the way,” she said.

Mrs Morgan took him for half an hour a day for around 20 weeks, as part of the Reading Recovery programme backed by the government.

It involves intensive one-to-one support in a calm environment, and lessons are tailored to the pupil's needs.
 

Pupils' reading scheme 'a success'
The Press Association - United Kingdom
May 9, 2008

Youngsters with poor reading skills are making "striking" progress thanks to a new government initiative, a new report has suggested.

The Reading Recovery programme is aimed at young pupils who find particular difficulty with reading tasks. The programme provides the children with intensive one-on-one tailored reading lessons with specialist reading teachers.

A study revealed that the programme was enabling young problem readers to catch-up with their peers.

The report by the Institute of Education and commissioned by KPMG, also suggested that the pupils who benefited from the Reading Recovery programme went on to out-perform the national average within two years.
 

Catch-up reading scheme 'success'
BBC News - United Kingdom
by Hannah Goff
May 8, 2008

Struggling young readers make lasting progress on a scheme that offers one-to-one support, a study suggests.

The government-funded Reading Recovery gives six-year-olds tailored coaching from specially-trained teachers for half an hour a day for 12 to 20 weeks.

A study of 500 pupils found those on the programme not only caught up with their age-group but were out-performing the national average within two years.

Government to roll out reading programme in schools
EducationGuardian.co.uk - United Kingdom
by Anthea Lipsett
Friday May 9, 2008

Children who struggle to read at age six can catch up and overtake their peers with the help of specialist one-to-one tuition, according to a new research published today.

The research into the progress of 500 children shows the lowest-achieving readers can go on to outperform the national average within two years after daily individual half hour sessions for up to five months with Reading Recovery (RR) teachers while the children are aged six.
 

Fund provides books for first-graders
Journal and Courier - Lafayette, IN
May 7, 2008

About 118 Greater Lafayette first-graders are making strides in their reading, thanks to a gift made possible by a former Purdue professor.

On Monday and Tuesday, free books were delivered to students at Oakland, Wea Ridge, Cumberland and Klondike elementary schools. Books will also be distributed to students in the Twin Lakes School Corp. next Monday.

The students are involved in the Reading Recovery program, which offers early interventions to help children who are struggling to learn to read or write.

Each kid received four books -- one easy read, two to challenge them and one to read with their family.

The books were purchased through the Susan Nierstheimer Book Fund, which is named in honor of former literacy and language assistant professor Susan Nierstheimer, who died in 2005.
 

Focus on Sheboygan Schools: School focuses on improving students' reading, writing skills
Sheboygan Press - Sheboygan, WI
By Harlan Weber
May 2, 2008

The Washington School for Comprehensive Literacy is located at 1238 Geele Ave. in Sheboygan. Washington School for Comprehensive Literacy currently has an enrollment of 381 students in grades K-5.

The comprehensive literacy model employs well-trained literacy coaches who demonstrate and model for classroom teachers research-based teaching methods and practice in the essential components of a balanced literacy program, which include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing process. Classroom teachers then practice these same methods under the literacy coach's guidance.

Washington is the first school in Wisconsin using this model. Washington's top priority is assuring that all children become strong readers. Teachers intervene when a child first shows signs of trouble with reading progress. Washington has three teachers who are trained in the Reading Recovery Program to address reading problems early and intensively.
 

JUNE 2008

Troup trustees hear update on Reading Recovery program
Tri County Leader - Whitehouse, TX
By Charlotte Smith
June 26, 2008

Students and staff from the district's Reading Recovery program were guests at last week's regular meeting of the Troup school board, with trustees enjoying a demonstration of the students' reading mastery. With few action items on a relatively short agenda, the update on the success of the Reading Recovery program was the highlight of Thursday's meeting.
 

It's a New Chapter for Youngsters
RedOrbit News - United Kingdom
June 25, 2008

Hundreds of youngsters who struggle with reading will be thrown a lifeline when a specialist Midland centre hailed as "among the most modern in Europe" opens its doors.

More than 500 primary pupils will be taught using the Reading Recovery programme at the Centre for Literacy and Language Development in Smethwick during its first three years of operation.

Many more will benefit as dozens of teachers undergo Reading Recovery training before returning to their own schools.
 

Education reform 2.0
Boston Globe - Boston, MA
June 23, 2008

Massachusetts Governor Patrick plans to redesign the state’s public education system, including a Readiness Plan. Reading Recovery is mentioned as an example of a data-driven instruction system that provides teachers with “scientifically-tested ways to teach and assess early literacy skills.”
 

Across the Wabash Valley
Terre Haute Tribune Star - Terre Haute, IN
June 18, 2008

FAYETTE - In celebration of their success in developing reading skills, the students in the Fayette Reading Recovery program show off their reading abilities by reading aloud to their families and guests at the annual Reading Recovery Tea.

Their teacher, Mrs. Laura Kidwell, hosted this year’s tea in the Fayette Library Media Center. The students sat in the spotlight at the front of the room and read their favorite Reading Recovery book to a gathering of family, friends and special guests.
 

Reading Recovery earns raves for helping kids early
The Salem News - Salem, MA
By Amanda McGregor
June 17, 2008

SALEM — Divin Elonga arrived from Africa last year without speaking a word of English. Now, at the end of first grade, he is reading above average for his class.

Last Tuesday morning, he whizzed through a book with teacher Lisa DiIsso, called "Just Me and My Puppy," and wrote a journal entry about the story afterward.

DiIsso worked with Divin, 6, every day during the first half of this school year as part of the Reading Recovery program, which provides early interventions for children who are having extreme difficulty learning to read and write.
 

Military mother is grateful for reading program
Lansing State Journal - Lansing, MI
June 15, 2008

HOLT — Adam Dudak's mother, Katrina, had an extra worry when she was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Her 5-year-old was having problems with some of the skills she knew he'd need to succeed in school. He did not know letters and sounds and was uninterested in learning them.

"This was new for me because Adam's sister had no problems at all getting started with reading and writing," Adam's mother said. "Even though I was home by the time Adam started first grade, he still did not like school."

Fortunately, Adam is attending Elliott Elementary in Holt School District. The school offers a short-term reading safety net to help most of the lowest first graders reach grade-level in just a few weeks — called Reading Recovery. Adam received daily, 30-minute lessons from Dr. Michal Taylor, a Reading Recovery teacher leader from Ingham Intermediate School District, who teaches in the Holt Schools.
 

Whoopi! Educator is giving away her winnings
The Virginian-Pilot - Norfolk, VA
by Cyndi Kight
June 11, 2008

PRINCESS ANNE. One of Heidi Magyar's favorite sounds is the crackle of a brand-new book's spine as it's opened for the first time.

It's a sound that the Parkway Elementary Reading Recovery teacher has been able to share nearly a thousand times over, thanks to Scholastic Book Clubs and celebrity Whoopi Goldberg.

Magyar was one of 100 national winners who, through the "Whoopi! We're Reading! Sweepstakes," sponsored by Scholastic's ClassroomsCare program, received 1,000 new books to give away.
 

South Hadley officials choose new School Committee member
The Republican Newsroom - Springfield, MA
by Sandra E. Constantine
June 9, 2008

SOUTH HADLEY - Officials have appointed a 59-year-old town woman with more than 30 years of teaching experience to fill the vacancy on the School Committee created by the recent resignation of W. Rochelle Calhoun.

The Select Board and School Committee voted 6-1 last week to appoint Lorraine Liantonio of 47 Abbey St. to the position.

Liantonio, who moved to town in 1986, is currently a Reading Recovery teacher leader with the Hampshire Educational Collaborative in Northampton.

JULY 2008

New team at the elementary school Miller, Slade and Horton hired
Nantucket Independent - Nantucket, MA
by Margaret Carroll-Bergman
July 30, 2008

John Miller, principal of Nantucket Elementary School from 1985 to 1995, was appointed Monday as NES interim principal and will begin his new job on August 1.

Nina Slade, a 22-year veteran of the school system, who worked as an administrative intern in the superintendent's office last year, was appointed this week interim assistant principal at the elementary school.

Slade is a licensed reading specialist and a past recipient of the Nantucket Golf Club's Excellence in Teaching award. She played a leading role, along with NES teacher Helaina Jones, in starting a Reading Recovery program on Nantucket. Reading Recovery is a highly effective, short-term, early literacy intervention program that provides intense individualized support for students in the first grade. The goal of the program is to bring students' reading scores above the average.
 

Mountain View approves Pre-K program grant
Susquehanna Independent - Montrose, PA
July 30, 2008

Mountain View school board on Monday July 28, approved a Pre-K grant allowing a pilot program to begin in November.

The board also approved the submission of a Reading Recovery Grant that would allow Mountain View to train a teacher leader, and allow the school district to become a training site.

The school has been involved in the Reading Recovery program for 11 years, but has had to travel to Binghamton for training due to lack of status as a training site.

The submission must be placed by August 4.

Award honors educator’s work with reading
Houma Courier - Houma, LA
By Matthew Pleasant
July 27, 2008

HOUMA – Educators know teaching one child to read takes vigilant effort.

But one longtime local educator has been honored for her efforts to make sure that elementary-school students throughout Terrebonne Parish are receiving the one-on-one attention it takes to learn reading skills.

Carol Davis, federal programs supervisor for the Terrebonne schools, recently received the Teacher Leader Award from the Reading Recovery Council of North American.

The council is made up of educators well versed in Reading Recovery, a literacy program for young students used by school systems nationally.

Legislature's budget calls for $13 Million in local aid
Reading Advocate - Concord, MA
July 18, 2008

Reading would receive $13 million in local aid, under the $28.233 billion Fiscal Year 2009 state budget passed the Massachusetts House and Senate. Among the uses of these funds are 2.9 million for the Reading Recovery Program. This valuable early literacy program which improves the performance of children throughout the Commonwealth who are at-risk of failing to read by the end of 1st grade.
 

New programme tackles literacy problems in south-east
Kilkenny Advertiser - Kilkenny, Ireland
July 17, 2008

Literacy problems among school leavers attempting to access further education are being tackled at the roots in the south-east with an initiative from the Department of Education.

The Kilkenny Education Centre’s Reading Recovery programme is aimed at children aged six and seven and is an early intervention programme designed to reduce literary problems.

MSA test scores are up in most subjects
So. Maryland News - Waldorf, MD
July 16, 2008

The Maryland State Department of Education released its Maryland School Assessment scores for Charles County on Monday.

In a trend that has been tracked for the last five years, Maryland schools have made consistent progress in improving their scores.

Charles County School Superintendent James E. Richmond was pleased with the steady progress the scores have demonstrated. He referred to the reading improvement programs and the reading recovery programs that have been initiated in the schools to improve reading scores.

People in the News
Central Valley Business Times - Stockton, CA
July 11, 2008

Judith Neal, professor emerita of education at California State University, Fresno, has been appointed president of the Reading Recovery Council of North America, an 8,000-member international association dedicated to helping first graders who have extreme difficulty learning to read.

Ms. Neal is the former director of Fresno State’s Central California Reading Recovery Project. She supervised teacher training sites in five Western states and taught graduate-level courses for Reading Recovery teacher leaders.

Ms. Neal is founding editor of “The Journal of Reading Recovery” and served as its editor-in-chief from 2001 to 2006. She also edited “The Running Record: A Review of Theory and Practice for Reading Recovery Teachers” from 1997 to 2001.

Fresno professor emerita leads reading association
Fresno Bee - Fresno, CA
July 10, 2008

Judith Neal is the new president of the Reading Recovery Council of North America.

Neal is professor emerita of education at California State University, Fresno. The council is an 8,000-member international association dedicated to helping first-graders who have difficulty learning to read. Neal is founding editor of The Journal of Reading Recovery and served as its editor-in-chief from 2001 to 2006.

Reading Scheme Goes to the Top of the Class
Leicester Mercury - Leicester, England
July 10, 2008

The number of children starting secondary school who cannot read is set to fall dramatically thanks to high-intensive teaching of six-year-olds. In Leicester, 500 pupils have now benefited from one-on-one classes in the Reading Recovery project which, according to teachers, has produced "miraculous" results.

Schools identified children who had the biggest difficulties reading - typically, they could only read and write two or three words - and they have shown massive improvements.

So far, 73 per cent of the children who on the scheme have reached the level expected of all seven-year-olds when they take their SATs tests, despite their very low starting points.


Oakes organizes program to help students improve reading skills
Fremont Tribune - Fremont, NE
By Don Cunningham
July 7, 2008

Lynette Oakes, Reading Recovery teacher leader for Fremont Public Schools, sees the prospects of those who fall behind in their reading development.

“Our reading intervention program actually has its origin in the University of South Dakota. To address low reading scores, we initiated Reading Recovery in 1999. Since then, we have trained one teacher in each elementary school in the district. Our teachers assess the basic word skills of our kindergarten class each May. If we find a student who is struggling with reading, we intervene at the beginning of first grade,” Oakes said.

Reading scheme success
Loughborough News - Loughborough, England
July 7, 2008

A reading scheme that is transforming the lives of children who have been struggling to read, is celebrating more success this week.

The city council has trained a further ten primary school teachers to provide specialist Reading Recovery teaching, as part of its "Every Child a Reader" scheme.

AUGUST 2008

Kinkeade and Gross Named Teachers of the Year
Irving Independent School District - Irving, TX
August 25, 2008

Lisa Kinkeade, a Reading Recovery and literacy teacher at Irving ISD in Texas was named teacher of the year by the Irving ISD Board of Education.
 

Point Pearce Aboriginal School wins Dare to Lead Award
Yorke Peninsula Country Times - Kadina, South Australia
August 5, 2008

Point Pearce Aboriginal School was one of three schools in South Australia to be awarded a national Dare to Lead Achievement Award.

The national Dare to Lead Awards acknowledge schools and leaders who have demonstrated excellence in helping Aboriginal students achieve their potential.

Point Pearce school staff, under the leadership of Principal Bronwyn Milera, have implemented a range of literacy based programs and activities designed to foster a supportive and structured learning environment that allows children to work at a highly literate level regardless of learning capabilities, a spokesperson said.
“The variety of programs including Accelerated Literacy, Reading Recovery and Narungga culture and language were praised by judges of the award.”

SEPTEMBER 2008

Help for pupils struggling with reading
Hull Daily Mail - Hull, England, UK
September 30, 2008

Children in Hull who struggle at reading are to be given intensive one-to-one tuition as part of a multi-million pound Government scheme.

Reading Recovery is an intensive catch-up programme that focuses on the bottom five per cent of pupils at key stage one and will give six-year-olds specialist support from trained teachers.

The groundbreaking scheme aims to raise standards for those children who are failing to make the grade in national tests.
 

District notes: St. Oliver's NS parents hold annual meeting
Dundalk Argus - Dublin, Ireland
September 25, 2008
(Registration required)

The AGM of the St Oliver Plunketts Parents Council was held last Wednesday night in the school. There were three very interesting guests speakers including Joan Young the deputy Principal of the school who outlined the role of the learning support team in the school.

She spoke about the Reading Recovery programme which has been in operation in the school for the last 6 years and is very successful.
 

Leading Article: A welcome return to one-on-one
The Independent - London, England, UK
September 4, 2008

The Government announced this week that – from the start of the new term – the 5 per cent of youngsters struggling hardest would get special one-to-one help from their teachers in reading. We should welcome the fact that 30,000 of the lowest achievers who, in the past, would have been switched off from secondary schooling are being given a much better chance of surviving in the classroom. Research shows that children taught one-to-one – a method that has been piloted in several schools and was widespread in the Nineties under the guise of the Reading Recovery project – can improve from being in the bottom 5 per cent to becoming an above-average reader in a relatively short space of time.
 

Nurturing the genius in your child
Royal Gazette - Hamilton, Bermuda
September 3, 2008

If you're looking for someone to bring out the genius in your child, look in the mirror.

That's the advice from Dr. Floretta (Dr. Flo) Thornton-Reid, an American education expert who will be lecturing in Bermuda this week.

Dr. Thornton-Reid is the assistant professor and executive director for the Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Georgia State University. She is also on loan to Clemson University in South Carolina.

She is proud that she is the only African American Reading Recovery trainer in the world, but also concerned.

"Reading Recovery has been in the world for about thirty years," she said. "I am the third person of African American descent to be trained and the only trainer that is African American in the world. The other two people went on to do different things.

"I'd like to see more folks become trainers. Darnell Wynn in Bermuda is a Reading Recovery teacher leader and works in the school system. She does manage the implementation of Reading Recovery on the Island. Then she is affiliated with our regional organisation."

OCTOBER 2008

District 205 students score lower than 2007 tests
Galesburg Register-Mail - Galesburg, IL
October 31, 2008

GALESBURG – Galesburg District 205 elementary students overall scored lower on this year’s Illinois Standards Achievement Test in 2007, but most scores are still well above the state average. …District officials are pleased with the scores, saying the high levels of achievement are indicative of hard-working parent, teachers and students. They are also happy that, despite ever-increasing levels of poverty, students are meeting and exceeding academic standards more each year. …A high level of parental involvement at all six elementary schools, nearly 100 percent across the board, is one thing which [Superintendent Joel] Estes points to as contributing to student success. The district’s first-grade Reading Recovery program also helped raise reading scores, as many students who need assistance are receiving it early enough to get up to grade level by the time they are tested.
 

One-to-one makes all the difference when teaching children to read
Independent - London, England, UK
October 30, 2008

Alicia, 7, is reading Father Bear Goes Fishing. "Here – comes – a – fish – he – shouted." With her finger inching along the words, she ploughs through the whole book – a minor miracle considering that a few weeks ago, after a year in school, she was not reading at all.

Even more impressive is that she is enjoying it and tackling problems with confidence. Alicia's teacher, Joy Matthews, says to her: "I loved how you went back and checked when you said 'I'm' instead of 'I am'. Good looking!"
 

School news
Daily Press - Newport News, VA
October 24, 2008
Registration required

Achievements
•Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools Superintendent Gary Mathews has presented W-JCC's Reading Recovery team with the Superintendent's Starfish Award for achieving the highest rate of success since the program began in 1993. The team increased struggling readers' success by 50 percent during last school year. Team members are DeVeria Gore, Vicky Shaw, Christine Barton, Beth Hagy, Natalie Santabar, Daphne Goodrich, Judith Valdivielso, Lara Lansford, Ellen Turner, Trish Kline, Laura Burton, Heather Judson, Linda Reams, Cindy Macomber, Lisa Holston, Sue Scherling, Jane Van Dyke, Beverly Hathaway and Valerie Way.

•Judith Valdivielso, a Reading Recovery teacher at James River Elementary School, was recently awarded $1,000 from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center for being selected at the center's Teacher of the Year. The money will be used to provide and improve learning opportunities at the school. Valdivielso was selected based on her professional contributions to the school.
 

Reading Recovery celebrates 10 years
Worthington Daily Globe - Worthington, MN
by Laura Grevas
October 16, 2008

WORTHINGTON — “Tell her,” said Reading Recovery teacher Amy Oberloh, “about the girl at the computer.”

“Last year, there was a child I worked with, and the parents were illiterate,” recounted teacher Joan Phillips. “She didn’t go to preschool, and she began kindergarten very low, struggling,” “She qualified for the Reading Recovery program and really took off, did a wonderful job, and then we invited parents to come in. She went over to the computer and showed her dad how she could read a book and take a test on that book. And I think he was just like ‘Wow, my daughter is reading,’ and just so proud of her.”

The Reading Recovery teachers at Prairie Elementary School are celebrating the program’s 10-year anniversary this year. And they say there are many more success stories for the initiative that aims to help first-graders who have fallen behind in reading.
 

West Elementary teacher learns to bridge the gap between languages
West Liberty Index - West Liberty, IA
by Sara Sedlacek
October 15, 2008

Iowa legislators introduced a bill that will fund training for 5 Descubriendo la Lectura teachers in the state. Descubriendo la Lectura is the reconstruction of Reading Recovery for Spanish speaking children. Marciana Tharp, a Reading Recovery teacher at West Elementary, is the first Iowa teacher to train in Descubriendo la Lectura.
 

Reading Recovery Award
Evanston Roundtable - Evanston, IL
October 15, 2008

Connie Obrochta, literacy coach at Washington School, was awarded one of six national $15,000 scholarships from the Reading Recovery Council of North America's Teacher Leader Scholarship Awards funded by Deluxe Corporation Foundation.

The scholarship is to be applied toward a year of training at National-Louis University, where Ms. Obrochta will train as a Reading Recovery teacher leader.
 

Ready, set, read
Running records help teachers evaluate students’ reading skills
Journal-Advocate - Sterling, CO
by Callie Jones
October 14, 2008

STERLING — As students develop their reading skills, it’s important to see if they are making growth with their reading skills and one way to do that is by doing running records. Teachers at Campbell Elementary School participated in a running records training on Monday, led by Margaret Clark, reading recovery teacher trainer for RE-1 Valley School District.
 

Special efforts pay off at East Elementary
Desert Valley Times - St. George, UT
By Alyson Van Deusen
October 1, 2008

ST. GEORGE - While the week may have gotten off to an ordinary start for most students, Monday was an especially good day for East Elementary School.

The school achieved its adequate yearly progress, or AYP, for No Child Left Behind Act testing for the 2007-2008 academic year.

We're about best practices regardless of the way the wind blows," Principal Joseph Eckman said Tuesday.
Eckman said there are many reasons why his Title I school achieved so much last year.
"If there's anything close to magic, it's reading recovery," he said while sitting at this desk.

NOVEMBER 2008

'Good results' for reading scheme
BBC News - United Kingdom
November 28, 2008

Children who are struggling to read have made "spectacular" improvements under a reading scheme, academics say.

Results from a three-year pilot programme show on average pupils boosted their reading age by nearly two years in four or five months.

The scheme for six-year-olds, called Every Child a Reader, is being rolled out across England.
More than 5,000 pupils received one-to-one tuition for 30 minutes a day to help them catch up with their peers.
 

30 minutes of reading a day can help children improve reading age by two years
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
by James Kirkup
November 27, 2008

Children given just 30 minutes of one-on-one literacy sessions a day saw their reading age improve by nearly two years in less than five months, according to a Government commissioned report.

More than 5,000 six-year-olds with serious reading difficulties were given individual one to one reading tuition for 30 minutes a day.

The children - 60 per cent of them boys - were given the tuition for between 12 and 20 weeks.

At the start of the course, the average reading age of the children was four years and ten months. At the end, it was six years and seven months. That rate of improvement is roughly times the normal rate.

Their writing also improved "dramatically."

The Reading Recovery Programme is run by Every Child a Reader, a partnership of English education authorities, the Government and business leaders.
 

Reading boot camp belongs in every school: teacher
One-on-one time helps turn kids around
The Edmonton Journal - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
by Sarah O'Donnell
November 24, 2008

Every school day since late September, Letrell Dunawa gets a half-hour of teacher Coralie Kerr's undivided attention.

Away from the hustle and bustle of his Grade 1 class, the six-year-old Belmont School student sits with Kerr and reads simple picture books, sounds out words and writes sentences. On Friday, they tackled a new story called Father Bear Goes Fishing.
 

Class Acts: A Q&A With Sue Reneger
Modesto Bee - Modesto, CA
November 23, 2008

Reading Recovery teacher Sue Renenger was nominated for Class Acts by Mark Heinzinger, the administrator of Intervention Programs. Heinzinger said Renenger works tirelessly to help first-grade students meet reading requirements. She inspires the students and assists the parents in the pursuit of great reading skills and enjoyment.

Tackling literacy in Richmond schools
And it starts with a recognition of, and efforts directed at, boosting reading ability
Palladium-Item - Richmond, IN
November 17, 2008

The passing rate for RCS third-graders on the language arts portion of the ISTEP rose 31 percent from 2000-2007. The passing rate for sixth-graders rose 70 percent in the same period. An impressive improvement. It came as a result of a districtwide effort, known as the Richmond Community Schools Literacy Framework.

The Literacy Framework is supported by Purdue University, Ohio State University and a district literacy coordinator, providing classroom teachers with the latest research in best practice and brain-based learning.

Reading Recovery, a one-on-one teacher-directed practice, is one of the research based supports that has proven over time to be an effective way to accelerate a student's reading skills, and it is used throughout the schools.
 

LGMS earns honor
Lake Geneva Regional News - Lake Geneva, WI
By Lisa Seiser
November 13, 2008

Lake Geneva Middle School administrators, teachers, staff and students have worked on improving reading test scores through programs and a focus on comprehension in all courses.

Those efforts were rewarded recently when LGMS was named one of 80 Exemplary Middle Schools by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators.

"I think it's a nice honor for the school," said Jan Eckola, Lake Geneva Schools director of curriculum and instruction. "I think this reflects the larger picture of the efforts of teachers and the school across the board."

Eckola said early learning programs as well as Reading Recovery, reduced class sizes through SAGE grants all has made a difference to improve the test scores.
 

Elementary school program motivates children
St. George Daily Spectrum - St. George, UT
November 7, 2008

ST. GEORGE — First-grade student Dominic Carney whizzed through a short picture book on Wednesday. “I’m kinda good at this one,” Carney said before beginning the book. “I like the Gabby books.”

Carney may not have discovered his affinity for Gabby and the other characters if it wasn’t for his Reading Recovery teacher, Amy Wixom. Wixom is not Dominic’s primary first-grade teacher, but she does spend an intensive half-hour with Carney every school day to help him learn to read.

DECEMBER 2008

Ten education reforms to improve social mobility
Telegraph.co.uk - London, England, United Kingdom
December 29, 2008

This year-end column recommends 10 strategies to improve social mobility for students. Reading Recovery is recommended as an example of the “Use What Works Strategy.”

4. Use What Works
The pendulum of policy reform is constantly introducing new initiatives into the classroom. But how many are based on passing fads? We must embrace evidence based education. The problem is not that we do not know which types of teaching works, but that schools are not systematically using proven methods. As a start, all schools should adopt catch-up schemes, such as Reading Recovery, which we know works. Perhaps then, no child will be left behind.
 

Nixa schools invest in Reading Recovery
News-Leader.com - Springfield, MO
December 22, 2008

Nixa -- First-grader Preston Campbell -- oblivious to a crowd behind the one-way glass he thought was a mirror -- thoroughly enjoyed reading with much expression and animation about a friendly giant and clever penguins to his Reading Recovery teacher Valerie Jett earlier this month at High Pointe Elementary in Nixa.

They were being observed by Board of Education members as well as teacher leader Cindy Owens and other Reading Recovery teachers from Reeds Spring and Nixa.
 

Pilot scheme leads to 'spectacular' improvement in reading skills
Keighley News - Keighley, United Kingdom
December 18, 2008

Children who were struggling to read made “spectacular” improvements after a trial scheme was run for only 30 minutes a day in Bradford-district schools.

Academics hailed the success of the Every Child a Reader project, which was tested on six-year-olds in 19 primary schools.

They said the children improved their reading age by nearly two years — at four times the normal rate — after receiving one-to-one tuition for 30 minutes a day, for between 12 and 20 weeks.
 

Learning Lab puts best teaching methods on display
Worthington News - Worthington, OH
By Pamela Willis
December 16, 2008

Worthington City Schools’ new Learning Lab provides a “behind the glass” experience for teachers learning how to help struggling readers.

Reading Recovery teacher Kellie Ehler said the new Learning Lab built a Sutter Park Elementary School is a valuable professional development tool for teachers.

“If I have an at-risk child, I can take her behind the glass for a reading lesson, and teachers can learn how to help their own struggling readers by observing the lesson,” Ehler said.

Teachers can observe, learn at new Sutter Park lab
ThisWeek Community News - Worthington, OH
by Candy Brooks
December 10, 2008

A new observational teaching laboratory was unveiled at Sutter Park Preschool last week.

Teachers from Worthington and other nearby school districts will be able to use the lab, learning as they watch teachers work one-on-one with students who sit in a small room behind a one-way mirror.

The lab was designed for Reading Recovery teachers, but could also be used for classroom teachers and principals who want to learn to support the Reading Recovery process. It could also be used for other programs, such as English as a Second Language, administrators said.
 

Personalized Reading Recovery boosts skills
Nursery World - London, UK
by Catherine Gaunt
December 3, 2008
(free on-line registration)

A scheme giving 30 minutes a week of individual tuition to six-year-olds struggling to learn to read has succeeded in improving children's reading age by nearly two years.

The three-year, £10m Every Child A Reader programme involved 5,000 children in 31 local authorities in England and is being extended to all primary schools in the country. An evaluation by the Institute of Education found that on average the six-year-olds who took part moved from a reading age of four years ten months to six years seven months after 41 hours of one-to-one tuition over 12 to 20 weeks.
 

Reading scheme is success story
Bradford Telegraph Argus - Bradford, England, UK
by Anika Bourley
December 3, 2008

Children who were struggling to read made “spectacular” improvements after a trial scheme was run for only 30 minutes a day in Bradford schools.

Academics hailed the success of the Every Child a Reader project, which was tested on six-year-olds in 19 primary schools.

They said the children improved their reading age by nearly two years – at four times the normal rate – after receiving one-to-one tuition for 30 minutes a day, for between 12 and 20 weeks.
 

New Reading Recovery Report Released
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
December 2, 2008

The WWC's Reading Recovery® report has been updated to include reviews of 28 studies that have been released since 2005. Reading Recovery® is a short-term tutoring intervention intended to serve first-grade students who have the most difficulty learning to read and write.