Reading is the Focus at Carrollton C.U.S.D. #1
by Superintendent Mike Barry
January 18, 2007
It goes without question that a child's ability to read has a direct impact on his/her ability to learn and achieve. Unfortunately, not everyone possesses the innate abilities to automatically become a successful reader. And not everyone learns in the same manner and at the same rate. We do know that learning to read is a process that begins very early in a child's life. During the pre-school years the greater the quantity and quality of language interaction, the greater the chance the child will attain the building blocks that are needed for reading proficiency.
Research has shown that learning to read requires continued development of letter and sound recognition, vocabulary words, fluency and comprehension strategies. At Carrollton C.U.S.D. #1, the district has been taking a proactive approach to provide the best opportunities for our pre-school and school age children to acquire these skills. By incorporating various intervention strategies at an early age, students have a much greater chance of becoming successful readers.
Intervention strategies begin very early in a child's life through the districts state funded Birth-to-Three program. The trained Parent Educator coordinates the Books for Babies program in which each family with a newborn receives a free book. Home visits are then scheduled and proper reading techniques are modeled for the parents. The parent educator also schedules story hour and playgroup times each month for parents and their toddlers. Free books are also provided, and a resource lending library is available in the Pre-K center. Each year we have over 50 families in the Carrollton School District that participate in the Birth-to-Three program.
At the 3 to 5 year age, from 55 to 60 children are being served through the districts Pre-K state funded grant program. The main focus of this program is to increase the child's pre-reading skill level so that he/she will be better prepared for Kindergarten. Many activities to support reading are nurtured in half-day Pre-K classes. As soon as they arrive each day, students engage in learning activities by picking out their favorite book from the resource library. Individual letters and themes are promoted each week by the Pre-K staff. To help them better recognize and learn letters, children are exposed to labels, signs, and name cards throughout the Pre-K classrooms. Students also check out books daily from the lending library. Take home packs, which include books and activities, are prepared and checked out on a weekly basis. In addition, through the use of computer software programs such as Reader Rabbit and Reading with Pooh, children are taught letter and word recognition skills to help prepare them for the next level.
At the grade school, Kindergarten students are tested early in the fall to assess their readiness to read. If additional support is warranted, students are provided additional skill building support through the districts federally funded Title I program. One of the main priorities of Title I is to have students reading at grade level by the third grade. In addition to the concentrated effort made at the K - 3 levels, support is also offered by the Title I staff at grades 4 and 5. With this years addition of a reading certified teacher, the district is also helping students at the 6th, 7th and 8th grade levels.
Another goal of the Title I program is to promote parent involvement. The program currently has a part-time parent coordinator and plans to expand the position to further reach out to parents with support activities. The parent coordinator provides a link between the school and home and provides parents with many materials to help the children at home to be more successful at school. Books and learning activities to support reading and parenting are available in the resource library for parents to check out. In addition to the resource library for parents, the Title I staff provide professional books and materials for the districts classroom and special education teachers.
To further enhance our students learning to read, the Title I program for the past few years has sponsored the K - 3 summer camp for Carrollton Grade School students. Through close collaboration with the K - 3 teachers, students in need of extra help are identified, and parents are offered the opportunity to enroll their children in the two-week program.
The district also offers reading assistance through a grant that provides two reading improvement teacher aides. These aides help the school in many ways but primarily assist the classroom teachers during reading instruction time. In addition, the
K - 3 teachers utilize computers and the Wiggle Works software program to enhance the reading abilities of the students. Teachers received special training, computers and software through a technology grant to provide continuity in reading instruction for grades K - 3. Also, a volunteer tutoring program is in place at the primary grade level. Through the efforts of the District One Foundation, volunteers come in each morning to help with students who are having trouble with sight word recognition, spelling, etc.
On a district-wide level, several strategies have been implemented to ultimately help our students read and achieve at a higher level. Curriculum mapping has helped teachers determine what is being taught within and throughout grade levels. Also as a result of the process, the K - 12 curriculum has been aligned with state standards upon which the state tests are based. In addition, teaching staffs at both the grade school and high school have embraced the scientifically based teachings of Gretchen Courtney to bring a focused and consistent approach to teaching reading throughout the grade levels. The main objective of this professional development program is for every teacher to promote effective reading strategies throughout the K - 12 curriculum.
We strive to have all of our students in the district to be good readers. Through the efforts of many skillful classroom teachers and supportive parents, and with the extra assistance that is provided, great things are happening at Carrollton C.U.S.D. #1 in preparing our students to become proficient lifelong readers.
