“WHAT DOES LITERACY HAVE TO DO WITH HIGH DROPOUT RATES, LOW TEST SCORES, FRUSTRATED TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, AND IRATE EMPLOYERS? JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING." Irwin et. al., 2007)

ADOLESCENT LITERACY: ADOLESCENTS WHO ARE FULLY LITERATE KNOW AND USE READING, WRITING, LISTENING, SPEAKING, AND THINKING STRATEGIES TO LEARN ACROSS ALL CONTENT AREAS AND CAN DEMONSTRATE/COMMUNICATE THAT LEARNING TO OTHERS WHO NEED TO KNOW AND CAN TRANSFER THEIR LEARNING TO NEW SITUATIONS. SOUND LIKE OUR MISSION STATEMENT TO YOU?

“THE ALLIANCE FOR EXCELLENT EDUCATION ESTIMATES THAT AS MANY AS 8 MILLION MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS READ BELOW GRADE LEVEL.” MOST OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED THE EFFECTS OF THAT IN OUR CLASSROOMS.

“THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT MANY STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL UNPREPARED TO READ, WRITE, SPEAK, LISTEN, AND THINK AT A LEVEL NEEDED FOR COLLEGE, CAREERS, OR CITIZENSHIP.”

“STUDENTS ARE DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL IN LARGE NUMBERS, MANY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE ACADEMIC LITERACY SKILLS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL.” WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT GRADUATE AND GO ON TO COLLEGE?

“A SUBSTANTIAL PERCENTAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES NEED REMEDIAL CLASSES IN READING AND WRITING WHEN THEY GET TO COLLEGE.” AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT DO NOT GO ON TO COLLEGE?

“LIMITED LITERACY SKILLS ARE A BARRIER TO GETTING AND RETAINING GOOD EMPLOYMENT AND PARTICIPATING ACTIVELY AS A CITIZEN.”

“BUSINESSES SPENT MORE THAN $3 BILLION IN A RECENT YEAR TO PROVIDE BASIC WRITING CLASSES TO EMPLOYEES” (COLLEGE BOARD, 2004). AND WHAT ABOUT THIS?

LITERACY IS NOT SOMETHING ADDED TO THE PLATE… LITERACY IS THE PLATE!!!!!!!!!

MANY STUDENTS BEGIN NINTH GRADE WITH AGE APPROPRIATE ACADEMIC LITERACY SKILLS. IF THOSE SKILLS ARE NOT FOSTERED IN HIGH SCHOOL, BY THE TIME THOSE STUDENTS ARE JUNIORS, THEIR ACADEMIC LITERACY SKILLS WILL HAVE DROPPED BELOW THE LEVEL THEY HAD ENTERING HIGH SCHOOL.

“IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO READ AND UNDERSTAND INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TEXT, BUT ALSO TO REMEMBER AND ORGANIZE INFORMATION TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED. CONTENT-AREA STANDARDS ARE FILLED WITH LITERACY-BASED DEMANDS TO DESCRIBE, ANALYZE, DISCUSS, AND SYNTHESIZE CONTENT. YET STUDY AFTER STUDY REVEALS THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT BEING TAUGHT TO DO THIS TYPE OF HIGH-LEVEL READING, WRITING, AND THINKING IN MOST MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS.” (Schmoker, 2006)

THE GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY MODEL OR COACHING MODEL IS A MOVE FROM THE TEACHER MODELING A STUDENT COMPREHENSION STRATEGY, TO THE TEACHER USING A STRATEGY WITH STUDENTS, TO THE STUDENTS USING STRATEGIES ON THEIR OWN.

“BY RECEIVING THE CONTENT THROUGH OTHER MEANS SUCH AS HANDS-ON PROJECTS, VIDEOS, AND LECTURES, STUDENTS MAY LEARN THE CONTENT BUT BE UNABLE TO GO ON TO LEARN MORE ON THEIR OWN; THEY BECOME MORE DEPENDENT ON THE TEACHER TO FEED FACTS, CONCEPTS, AND GENERALIZATIONS TO THEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT LEARNED THE SKILLS REQUIRED TO ACCESS, EVALUATE, AND SYNTHESIZE INFORMATION THEMSELVES.”

“..SECONDARY SCHOOLS HAVE LARGELY NEGLECTED LITERACY INSTRUCTION.” “SECONDARY TEACHERS ARE NOT TRAINED TO SUPPORT STUDENTS’ LITERACY DEVELOPMENT.”