Reading First Called a Success

By Eric Bowen, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Apr. 16–Many educators have decried the mandates from President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, but some local teachers and principals said one program has dramatically improved reading abilities for students.

For the past three years, Brookhaven and Mountainview elementary schools have been piloting a program, called Reading First, that has boosted reading scores for young children. The program uses new reading models and technology to help teachers know what areas the students need to work on.

Joe Newcome, principal of Brookhaven Elementary, said that the program has revolutionized how his school teaches reading. The program focuses on individual instruction for children to help all kids learn the skills they need.

Students are also assessed several times a year to make sure they are learning, Newcome said. Instead of waiting until students take the WESTTEST, teachers can find out what a child needs to be taught as they go through the year.

Since the Reading First program was implemented in 2004, both schools have increased test scores, according to statistics from the state Department of Education.

At Mountainview, the percentage of third-grade students at mastery level increased to 84 percent in 2006 from 79 percent in 2004. At Brookhaven, 70 percent of students were at mastery level in 2006 compared with 69 percent in 2004.

But the scores do not show what the teachers are seeing in the students — a new level of excitement about learning, some educators say.

“The kids are happy, because they feel that confidence to learn now,” Newcome said. “It’s one of those programs, that is so effective, that if the money went away, we would still have to find a way to do it.”

Reading First is one of the main programs that’s part of the 2001 No Child Left Behind law. It will provide about $1 billion next year in extra money for reading programs in the schools, according to the Federal Department of Education.

Reading First funds ways of reading instruction that are backed up by scientific research, said Christine Shaw, Title I manager for Monongalia County Schools. It concentrates on phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Monongalia County Schools’ program is funded through a grant from the state Education Department, using federal funds. The district received $214,791 for this year’s grant, Shaw said.

The program uses a variety of methods for teaching reading and testing students’ progress, Shaw said. The district has hired two mentor teachers to work with kindergarten through third-grade teachers to implement the program.

Teachers in Monongalia County follow a three-tiered model, Shaw said. The majority of students will learn to read with the typical instruction of two hours of reading a day, Shaw said.

Students who have trouble with reading move up to the second tier, which includes a variety of more targeted methods for learning, Shaw said. Students get extra reading sessions and more assessments. If they still are having trouble, then the district typically will assign the student to special education to give them more reading support.

Shaw said that the new method should mean that as many as 97 percent of students will be able to read on grade level.

“The whole idea of Reading First is to hopefully have all children reading on grade level by the time they complete third grade,” Shaw said. “We’re trying to reduce the numbers of children we refer to special education.”

Another aspect of the Reading First program is giving students regular tests to find out if they are able to read, said Mountainview Elementary Principal Steve King.

Students are regularly tested on their reading ability using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Teachers use Palm computers to check off parts of the test, King said. That information is then fed into a nationwide database to see if the students are learning at the same level as others in their same age group.

The program also helps teachers figure out the best way to teach each student how to read, King said. It measures different abilities and lets teachers focus on a student’s individual problems.

“It provides you with almost instant assessment on instructional strategies on a day-by-day basis,” King said.

Though Reading First has been successful in raising scores and reading comprehension, it is a costly program. So far in the three years of the program, Monongalia County Schools has spent almost $750,000 in grant funding on the Reading First program. The district hired two mentor teachers for the district to pilot the program and has reading specialists at both pilot schools.

Shaw said that Monongalia County decided this year to expand the use of the DIBELS program countywide. Teachers in all elementary schools now have access to Palm computers to do the assessment.

But the school system hopes to also hire more mentor teachers and reading specialists to make sure that the ideas behind Reading First can be used at all elementary schools.

“In sustaining this program and spreading it to other schools, we’re going to have to figure out how to use resources and how to acquire resources to provide the strategic and intensive intervention,” Shaw said.

Denise Berrebi, Mountainview’s mentor teacher, said that despite the cost, the reading program is vital for students. Being able to read is critical for future success, and without early intervention, students will start off with a handicap when it comes to finding jobs.

“It is the most important skill they will need to have,” Berrebi said. “It’s almost a crime not to give them that chance.”

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