Summer School Reading Initiative: My Reading Coach

And Reading Achievement for ALL  Important and crucial topic nationwide.  Reading achievement is a vital part of a child’s educational program. (NCLB, 2001).

Statement of the Problem  Phonological awareness (K-3)  Second-language learners  Printed material v. Computer program

problem cont.  Students progressing into the next grade; not reading on grade level  Special education referrals

Review of Related Literature  A good foundation of phonological awareness has shown to be a predictor of success in reading and writing (Troia, 1999).  Children from different ethnic backgrounds are experiencing difficulty in their reading development (Droop, 2003).

literature cont.  Print-based material are fixed, not recursive and too confined (Karchmer, 2001).  Building on a solid foundation of research, the Reading First initiative allows funds to be utilized to help local school districts eliminate the reading deficit by establishing high-quality, comprehensive reading instruction in kindergarten through grade 3 (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).

Demographics

Student Success Initiative  Created in 1999 by Texas legislature for Reading and Math. (TEA, 2004).  3rd Grade and 5th Grade  Future mandates

HHES Reading Programs Balanced Literacy Approach  Guided Reading  Accelerated Reader (AR)  Authentic Literacy Instruction

Reading Interventions  Reading Recovery/Descubriendo la lectura  TAKS Academies  My Reading Coach (Pilot Study)

My Reading Coach  Computer based software program developed by Jim Larabee - a speech pathologist and 25 years experience as a reading teacher.  Utilizes a cognitive learning theory approach  Provides a structured integrated approach to teach phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and text comprehension – all are required components of an effective reading program according to federal research.

Implementation of Program  Summer School Initiative  Teacher recommendations  Targeted for upcoming at- risk 3rd grade students  Small daily reading groups  My Reading Coach software  Collection of data

Significance of Program  Increase student test scores in all content areas  Decrease number of Special Education referrals  Increase students’ overall reading ability (decoding/comprehension)  Preparation for TAKS grades  Student motivation/increased self-esteem towards reading

Timeline May 2005 Finalize program details June 2005 Seek funding sources January 2006 Teacher training March 2006 Parent letter mail-out April 2006 Teacher recommendation June 2006 Implementation of program July 2006 Program evaluation August 2006 Post survey

Budget Item DescriptionQuantityAmount Teacher training1$ Stipends2$3, Software20$22, Office supplies1 Lot$5, CompEarphones20$ Miscellaneous1$2, Total$28,650.00

Program Evaluation  Qualitative Methods –Parent surveys –Teacher surveys  Quantitative Methods –TAKS Scores –My Reading Coach progress reports