DOCUMENT RESUME ED 432 740 CS 013 662 TITLE Improving Reading: Southeastern School Strategies. INSTITUTION SERVE: SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 39p. RJ96006701 CONTRACT PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Educational Improvement; Elementary Education; *Reading Improvement; *Reading Programs; *Reading Skills; *Student Evaluation IDENTIFIERS *SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education ABSTRACT Describing the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) program and its mission to promote and support the continual improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast, this paper discusses ways that teachers can decipher their students' progress in reading to help further develop students' reading skills. It is based on site visits to 18 schools endorsed as having strong reading programs. After a brief overview, it summarizes 10 needs and strategies for improving reading and then presents these needs, strategies, and results in more detail. The paper concludes that the 10 strategies described need to be considered in the context of the "big picture" (the way the faculty approaches its work); and that the schools visited are not doing any one thing exclusively. Contains 31 references. Four appendixes contain a questionnaire, a list of schools considered in the study, 8 points on how children learn to read, and a 95-item bibliography. (SC) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** 0 lrriiir ;x I 14 co U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) a This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 1/4.0 Minor changes have been made to r-) improve reproduction quality O Points of view or opinions stated in this () document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy s AVAILABLE BEST COPY Sou eastern School Straus es 1:1 Written for SERVE by C. Steven Bingham, Ed.D. Improving Reading is part of a series of products designed to address the improvement of reading literacy in the Southeast, including a videomagazine on Leading Change in Reading Literacy and a case study of two district-designed reading programs. The project reported in this document was directed by Wendy McColskey, Ph.D., SERVE Director of Assessment, Accountability, and Standards. SERVE thanks the principals and teachers of all participating schools and school districts who made this product possible. 3 SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education SEMI South Eastern Regional Vision for Education Associated with the School of Education University of North Carolina at Greensboro First Printing, 1998 Edite by Charles Ahearn, Director of Publishing and Quality Assurance Christy Casbon, Communications Specialist Donna Nalley, Senior Program Specialist Designed by Kelly Dryden, Senior Design Specialist Special Tin sac to the principals, teachers, and parents of the more than two dozen southeastern schools we visited in researching this publication. Your belief in the capacity of every child to read and write effectively and your ability to see that it happens is an inspiration to educators everywhere. We also thank the following individuals for reviewing and critiquing this document: Christopher Baker, Professor of Education, Salem College, NC Melita F. DeTreville, Teacher, Center of Knowledge, Richland Two Magnet School, SC Paula Egelson, Senior Research Specialist, SERVE, Greensboro, NC Wendy McColskey, Director of Assessment, Accountability, and Standards, SERVE, Greensboro, NC Nancy Mc Munn, Research Specialist, SERVE, Greensboro, NC Vicky Mickow-Porto, Senior Policy Analyst, SERVE, Greensboro, NC Thelma J. Roberson, Federal Programs Director, Lumberton Public Schools, MS Patricia Schenck, Resource Teacher, Bay District Schools, FL The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This document was produced with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. RJ96006701. 4 25 About the SERVE Organization Appendix A Questions Used in School Visits 26 Purpose of Document Appendix B List of Schools Visited or Contributing to Publication 7 Overview Appendix C What We Know About How Children Learn to Read Summary of Strategies Used in Schools Appendix D 1 Bibliography of Literature and Research Needs, Strategies, and Results on Improving Reading SERVE Publications Conclusions Ordering Information References 5 About rg O Program for the Improvement of Science and SERVE, the South Eastern Regional Vision Mathematics Education for Education, is an educational organi- zation whose mission is to promote an Program on School Development and support the continual improvement of Reform educational opportunities for all learners in the . Southeast. To address the mission, SERVE en- O Program on Technology in Learning gages in research and development in educational issues of critical importance to educators in the SERVE's National Specialty Area is Early Child- region and in the provision of research-based ser- hood Education, and the staff of SERVE's Pro- vices to SEAs and LEAs which are striving for gram for Children, Families, and Communities is comprehensive school improvement. Committed developing the expertise and the ability to pro- to a shared vision of the future of education in vide leadership and support to the early childhood the region, the organization is governed by a board community nationwide for children from birth to of directors that includes the chief state school eight years old. officers, governors, and legislative representatives In addition to the program areas, the SERVE from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and repre- Evaluation Department supports the evaluation activities of the major grants and contracts and sentatives of teachers and the private sector. provides evaluation services to SEAs and LEAs SERVE's core component is a Regional Educa- in the region. Through its Publishing and Qual- tional Laboratory funded since 1990 by the Of- ity Assurance Department, SERVE publishes a fice of Educational Research and Improvement variety of studies, training materials, policy briefs, (OEM), U.S. Department of Education. SERVE and other products of the programs. These infor- has additional major funding from the Depart- mative and low-cost publications include guides ment in the areas of Migrant Education and to available resources, summaries of current is- School Leadership and is the lead agency in the sues in education policy, and examples of exem- Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Consor- plary educational programs. Through its program- tium for the Southeast and the Southeast and Is- matic, evaluation, and publishing activities, lands Regional Technology in Education Consor- SERVE also provides contracted staff development tium (SEIRTEC). Based on these grants and and technical assistance in many areas of exper- contracts, SERVE has developed a system of pro- tise to assist education agencies in achieving their grams and initiatives that provides a spectrum of school improvement goals. resources, services, and products for responding The SERVE head office is at the University of to local, regional, and national needs. These pro- North Carolina at Greensboro, with major staff gram areas are groups located in Tallahassee, FL, and Atlanta, O Program on Assessment, Accountability, GA, and policy advisors in each state department and Standards of education in the region. Current and detailed information on any of the program and service O Program for Children, Families, and areas noted here may be found on SERVE's site Communities on the World Wide Web at www.serve.org. O Program on Education Policy 6 SERVE-Alabama SERVE-North John R. Sanders, Ed.D. Education Policy Analyst Carolina (MAIN OFFICE) Office forthcomingplease EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Assessment, Accountability, call the SERVE main SERVE. and Standards; Education office for assistance Policy; Evaluation; Executive at 800-755-3277 Services; Operations Education Policy Analyst P.O. Box 5367 Office of the Commissioner SERVE-Florida Greensboro, NC 27435 The Capitol, LL 24 Database Information 336-334-3211 Tallahassee, FL 32399 Services Center 800-755-3277 850-488-9513 1203 Governor's Square Blvd. Fax 336-334-3268 Fax 850-488-1492 Suite 400 Anchor School Project; Tallahassee, FL 32301 SERVE-Georgia Children, Families, and 850-671-6012 Urban Education and Communities; Region IV 800-352-3747 Teacher Leadership Comprehensive Center; Fax 850-671-6020 41 Marietta Street, NW SERVE Leaders Institute; Suite 1110 Southeast and Islands School Development and Atlanta, GA 30303 Reform; SERVEing Young Regional Technology in 800-755-3277 Children; Publishing and Education Consortium Fax 404-577-7812 Quality Assurance P.O. Box 5406 1203 Governor's Square Blvd. Greensboro, NC 27435 Education Policy Analyst Suite 400 336-334-3211 Georgia Department of Tallahassee, FL 32301 800-545-7075 Education 850-671-6000 Fax 336-334-4671 2066 Twin Towers East 800-352-6001 Atlanta, GA 30334 Education Policy Analyst Fax 850-671-6020 404-657-0148 Department of Public Fax 404-651-4673 Eisenhower Consortium for Instruction Mathematics and Science Education Building SERVE-Mississippi Education at SERVE 301 North Wilmington Street Education Policy Analyst 1203 Governor's Square Blvd. Raleigh, NC 27601-2825 State Department of Suite 400 919-715-1245 Education Tallahassee, FL 32301 Fax 919-715-1278 P.O. Box 771 850-671-6033 Jackson, MS 39201 SERVE-South 800-854-0476 601-359-3501 Fax 850-671-6010 Carolina Fax 601-359-3667 Education Policy Analyst Office forthcomingplease call the SERVE main office for assistance at 800-755-3277 ITWe.C[DL° J 7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE hitney, an inquisitive third-grader, sat down at her desk, flipped open a book during the designated "reading time," and began reading. Any parent, teacher, student, or complete stranger could observe that Whitney was reading, but what was her current reading level? The fact is we cannot determine a child's read- ing level or skills by mere observation. State standardized test scores offer some comparative data, but they do not clearly establish how instructional programs compare to others. Teachers need to know how to decipher their students' progress in reading to help further develop students' reading skills. This can be accomplished by "benchmarking," a technique used by organiza- tions to look outward for models to compare to their efforts. Improving Reading is meant for educators who are committed to and excited about helping benchmark their school's efforts to improve reading. It sum- marizes what a team of SERVE colleagues learned from site visits to 18 schools endorsed as having strong reading programs. The schools cited are listed so that you may personalize your benchmarking experience by contacting these schools and comparing progress notes on programs and reading improvement efforts. In addition, SERVE has developed a video that examines the reading programs at the visited sites. Educators must recognize that continuous im- provement on the part of all faculty members is essential in creating and maintaining solid programs. Therefore, we recommend that the video be viewed in faculty meetings in order to generate ideas and determine plans of action based on each schools' individual needs. It is crucial for educators to acknowledge that continuous improvement requires consistent review of schools' strengths and weaknesses to produce students with exceptional read- ing abilities. ithout expanding instruction to meet the requirements o 21" century workplace, students will have increased d culty in achieving gainful employment in a flourishin4,,g1 bal job market. Fortunately, administrators and teacheig becoming progressively aware of the need to improve reading instruction'an student literacy. Greater numbers of educators are acknowledging the signifi-, cance of enhancing students' capacity to read and write at higher levels. The demands of meeting employers' needs for a highly literate workforce are without precedent. Particularly in the Southeast, where little more than a generation ago the regional economy was driven by employment in low-wage, low-skill factories and family farms, expectations for teaching literacy to all students have never been greater. While many of our parents and grandpar- s`r.,11 ents did not earn a high school diploma, today's high school graduates are seeking work in areas requiring higher levels of comprehension and literacy. For instance, employees in factories such as Hoechst Celanese in Greenville, South Carolina; Burroughs-Welcome in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Mercedes-Benz in Vance, Alabama, are expected to comprehend complex tech- nical text. This example illustrates the need for educators to challenge their students and heighten literacy'outcome standards in the Southeastern region and beyond. The adage "Well begun is half-done" suggests that well is the most challeng- ing and important component of any initiative. Beginning well implies defin- ing a problem area. Schools implicitly define a problem by the choices they make concerning where to focus their improvement efforts. The notion of choices leads to a second assumption, embodied in the adage, "There are many ways up the mountain." Each school situation is unique. Therefore, it is un- realistic and even implausible to prescribe a one-size-fits-all approach to read- ing improvement that will work for every school. That is, the school improve- ment process lends itself better to description rather than prescription. 9 When SERVE's team visited schools, they found a wide variety of successful approaches and programs being implemented to improve literacy. They did not encounter one "right answer" to the problem of improved reading but rather uncovered multiple initiatives being used in various areas, such as cur- riculum development, assessment, professional development, and parent in- volvement. In the following pages, you will see some of the viable paths sev- eral schools have taken. Ideally, the SERVE team's summary of the actions of these 18 schools will help you identify problems which are not currently be- ing addressed in your school. Methodologically, this document builds from site-visits and classroom obser- vations at schools across the Southeast. The team interviewed teachers, stu- dents, parents, and principals at these schools. They also analyzed school, Local Education Agency (LEA), and State Education Agency (SEA) docu- ments. Schools selected for visitation were recommended as having "success- ful" reading programs or making "significant progress" in reading by SEA, LEA, or Institute of Higher Education (IHE) personnel familiar with the schools' reading literacy programs and student outcomes. All visits were made in the spring and fall of 1997. (Please see Appendix A for guiding questions.) Of the total number of schools visited, 18 were documented case reports and comprise the foundation of this study. The names, addresses, cipals, and phone and fax numbers of the 18 schools, as well as others con- -aping to the research project, are provided for your use in Appendix B. In the following section, school initiatives are number of strategies for improving reading emerged from the studied described in the context of the 10 need and strat- schools. During their visits, the egy areas identified above. Supporting research and literature for each strategy are cited, and SERVE team found that these schools had made a variety of improvements. The im- implementation and results from actual southeast- provements implied that certain needs existed ern school classrooms are shared. prior to the change. Figure 1 on page nine sum- marizes the needs and improvement strategies 10 used in these "successful" schools. AVAILABLE COPY BEST