Reading Recovery in the News - April-June 2007

APRIL 2007

Pleasant Valley educator keeps flock in the fold through books
Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, PA
By Helen Yanulus
April 30, 2007

Dora Deen Tartar is an education shepherd, of sorts.

She and her fellow educators identify youngsters who stray in their literacy progress and then herd the word-shy kids back into the fold of books, imagination and self-worth.

And that is just one of many things that this Kunkletown native does in a day. She is the reading supervisor/Title I director for the Pleasant Valley School District — the same district where she was a goalie for the varsity field hockey team and on stage with the drama club in her youth…

And for those who don't connect with reading, Tartar has instituted several programs, one of which is the Reading Recovery Program. The early intervention program catches those students not reading at grade level in first grade.

Reading Recovery program receives highest rating
Sioux City Journal, Sioux City, IA
April 6, 2007

The national Reading Recovery® program, which is administered locally by Northwest Area Education Agency, recently received the highest ranking for effectiveness by the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse.

WWC, an initiative of the USDE's Institute of Education Sciences, was established to provide educators and the public with a central, trusted source for determining what works in education based on scientific evidence.

"This independent assessment is the gold stamp we have long-awaited and confirms our decision to offer Reading Recovery as a safety net for first-graders who are having difficulty learning to read and write," said Pat Fostvedt-Oxendale, Northwest AEA Reading Recovery teacher leader and educational consultant.

MAY 2007

$100,000 designated as challenge gift
DesMoinesRegister.com, Des Moines, IA (news shorts)
May 21, 2007

Reading group's efforts credited Reading Recovery, which is supported by Heartland Area Education Agency, received the highest ranking for effectiveness by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education.

The WWC determined that Reading Recovery, a one-to-one tutoring program for the lowest-achieving first-graders, has positive effects on students' alphabetic skills and general reading achievement.
 

Schools target reading
The Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
May 21, 2007

MIDLAND -- Midland Public Schools is announcing a literacy initiative to teach all primary students to read well.

"The goal is to train all early elementary teachers in advanced literary strategies so no child leaves the primary grades without learning to read," said Kathy Ellison, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development.
The Buell Scholars Program will train all primary teachers in learning efforts such as Reading Recovery or Orton-Gillingham, she said.
 

A decade of Reading Recovery
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen, Beaver Dam, WI
By Terri Pederson
May 11, 2007

With cake and salad and lots of stories about how the program has helped children, teachers who learned about the program gathered at the Reading Recovery site at Lincoln Elementary School on Thursday.
More than 60 teachers from 11 school districts have been taught those skills.
 

PTA presents scholarships
Midland Reporter-Telegram, Midland, TX
By Mary Dearen
May 8, 2007

Midland Council of PTAs recently announced its scholarship winners for 2007-2008.

Among the four educators who were honored was Patricia Villanueva, who teaches first grade at Bonham Elementary. She has been a teacher for 17 years, seven of those at MISD. A trained Reading Recovery teacher, she is working toward a master's in education, with a reading specialist certificate at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

She received a Royce Austin Memorial Scholarship, which is $500 for tuition to a specific college or continuing education program.

Hyattsville teacher wins county honors
Business Gazette, Gaithersburg, MD
by Dennis Carter
May 3, 2007

Leah Rempert appeared stunned when her name was announced as this year’s county ‘‘Teacher of the Year,” despite considerable recognition she’s received as one of the best in Prince George’s County.

With her eyes welling up, Rempert embraced schools Superintendent John Deasy at the 21st annual Prince George’s County Teacher of the Year Award ceremony in Mitchellville Tuesday.

Rempert, a 38-year veteran of the school system, is a reading specialist and Reading Recovery teacher at Hyattsville’s Langley Park-McCormick Elementary School.

JUNE 2007

Johnston schools place emphasis on reading
DesMoinesRegister.com, Des Moines, IA
By Lisa Lavia Ryan
June 14, 2007

The Johnston school district will continue to allocate the resources it can toward early-reading programs because recent studies have shown that students with reading difficulties in first grade usually continue to have reading problems in high school, officials said.

During the Johnston school board meeting Monday night, reading/language arts coordinator Debra Cale presented annual data and information about the district's reading efforts. Cale focused on the district's core reading programs as well as such specialty intervention programs as Reading Recovery.

"The primary way to meet the needs of every student is to establish a strong core reading program," Cale told board members. "We have a core program in place for kindergarten through fifth grade, and we're working on articulating a better core program for secondary-education students."