River Bend looks at ways to improve students’ reading

By Samantha Sims Pidde
Herald Staff Writer

May 20, 2008 10:51 am

— FULTON, Ill. — Fulton Elementary School Principal Mindy Dunlap presented possible programs to improve students’ reading levels during the monthly River Bend School Board meeting Monday night.
Dunlap reported her findings of the Developmental Reading Assessment program. This K-8 program comes with assessment kits that allow a teacher to test a student on a one-on-one basis. The teacher would have the students read through paragraphs and ask specific questions used to evaluate the students’ level of reading. The teacher would then enter the results into the program's Web site to finish the assessment
The DRA program would require that the evaluation be given to each student a total of three times during the school year to effectively assess the child's reading ability. This would also allow the person to mark any improvement of the student throughout the year. Dunlap said this program would allow teachers to identify which students need special attention for reading.
After discussing the program and its potential benefits, the board approved Dunlap's request for kits.
Dunlap also reported that she has been looking into the Reading Recovery program. This program focuses solely on troubled readers in the first grade.
After assessments, those students who are determined to require the most help in reading would be given 12 weeks of one-to-one treatment with a trained educator. The teacher would spend almost an hour with each student in the program at one time. The teacher would also only be able to work with eight students during that time period.
“The idea is that you pay now or you will pay later,” said Superintendent Jane Bauer about the program. She said the purpose of Reading Recovery is to catch reading problems in students while they are still young.
The board discussed the pros and cons of the program. While Reading Recovery has been shown to be effective, Bauer said it can be quite costly and time consuming. Teachers are required to take special classes for months before they are able to enact the program. Some teachers are reluctant to put in that much time. Bauer did say, however, that a few teachers have expressed their desire to be a part of the program.
The school board decided to discuss the Reading Recovery program further after more information is provided. Dunlap was asked to put a report together concerning the reading program. Bauer, who has worked with Reading Recovery before, said the program has been found to be one of the most effective.