Teaching All Children to Read:

1
Teaching All Children to Read

• Leadership in Reading First Schools
• Stuart Greenberg
• Eastern Regional Reading First Technical
  Assistance Center, Florida State University, and
• The Florida Center for Reading Research
• Stuart Greenberg, Deputy Director
• sgreenberg_at_fcrr.org

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Leadership What do we know from research and
  practice?
• Critical elements of using data
• Concluding Thought

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Focus on Reading
Adapted from Walker, H. M., Horner, R., Sugai,
G, Bullis, M., Sprague, J., Bricker, D,
Kaufman, M. (1996).
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Teaching Reading is Urgent
No time is as precious or as fleeting as the
first years of formal schooling. Research
consistently shows that children who get off to a
good start in reading rarely stumble. Those who
fall behind tend to stay behind for the rest of
their academic lives. (Burns, Griffin,
Snow, 1999, p. 61)
5
The Reading First Plan for Success

• Increase the quality, consistency, and reach of
  classroom instruction

• Administer timely and valid assessments to
  identify students lagging behind and monitor
  progress

• Provide intensive interventions for students who
  are lagging behind in development of critical
  reading skills

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What is Reading?

• Reading is an active and complex process that
  involves
• Understanding written text
• Developing and interpreting meaning and
• Using meaning as appropriate to type of text,
  purpose, and situation (NAEP Framework, 2009)

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Two definitions of reading that summarize the
challenges we face in helping students become
proficient readers by 3rd grade
Reading is translating between oral and written
language. (Perfetti, 1985)
Reading is thinking guided by print.
(Perfetti, 1985)
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The act of reading a text is like playing music
and listening to it at the same time
Margaret Atwood (2002), Negotiating with the
Dead
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What are the most essential parts of the
principals role in a RF school?

• 1. Setting high expectations
• empowering others to meet them
• assuring fidelity in program implementation
• building a no excuses culture in the school
  doing what it takes to help kids succeed

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I intend to give this 110, and I ask you all to
do the same. Its too important to give it any
less. --RF Principal
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What are the most essential parts of the
principals role in a RF school?

• 2. Being visible involved in the reading
  program
• talking the talk walking the walk
• getting into classrooms to support teachers
  coach
• walk-throughs
• feedback

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What are the most essential parts of the
principals role in a RF school?

• 3. Supporting use of data to adjust instruction
• scheduling group meeting times for the year
• attending meetings whenever possible
• assuring follow-up on changes to instruction

13
We have between 70-80 of our students meeting
benchmark. That sounds pretty good, but what
about that other 20?
We want all kids to succeed, and were focused
on making that happen. --RF Principal
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What are the most essential parts of the
principals role in a RF school?

• 4. Actively collaborating with the coach and
  teachers to support students reading success
• team meetings
• group/kid-specific, data oriented conversations

15
At first teachers didnt want to regroup their
kids.
But we have to remember that we are all
responsible for the success of all kids on our
grade level team, so we have to work together.
Its not just your student, its our student.
--RF Principal
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Data is a key.....

• Data brings the reality of the childs success
  or struggle to the forefront. We cant afford to
  ignore the data if we are concerned about the
  students future.
• -RF principal

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Data guides instruction

• If the plan is not working, we do whatever is
  needed to change the plan. If it is not working
  after two weeks or a month, you need to change
  it. You need to make sure the plan is working.
• Failure is not an option.
• -RF principal

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Data guides success.....

• We are driven by curriculum
• and guided by data.
• -RF principal

19
For data analysis techniques to be valuable to
educators, the techniques must enhance the chance
that educators gain insight into student
performance and that they translate this insight
into improved educational experiences for
children.
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If you are serious about using data, be ready to
address change
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Assumption

• Student learning can and should improve on a
  continuous basis
• Learning environments that are meaningful and
  engaging

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Teachers Using Data

• Evaluate student progress
• Define the problems and needs
• Select improvement strategies and academic goals
• Initiate change

23
Grouping
DIBELS Assessment
Knowledge of Child
Curriculum
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Needed

• Reflection Thought-provoking information and
  time to study it
• Time for teachers to meet, discuss, reflect upon
  data, and make informed instructional decisions
• Data Continuous exposure to build a culture

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Instructional Curriculum Maps
Thinking About What We Are Teaching
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Curriculum Maps (Simmons Kameenui, 1999)

• Organized by Big Ideas for each grade level
• Provide curriculum-based 180-day pacing maps
• Provide specific goals and outcomes for each
  grade (i.e., what to teach and when)
• Based on a convergence of research in beginning
  reading

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Data Leading Questions

• Assessment
• Are we looking at all of the data?
• Student
• Which students are doing well and which need
  added instruction?
• Instruction
• Are all students engaged in rigorous instruction
  teacher directed and student centers?
• Leading Question
• Does the data reflect a lack of automaticity or a
  lack of knowledge?

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Data as a Conversation

• Patterns in this years results?
• Similar patterns in past years results?
• Are trends moving toward our goals?
• Do these data surprise us?
• Are there other broad data that show similar
  patterns?

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Cycle of Inquiry
Academic Focus
InquiryQuestion
DataAnalysis
Measurable Goals
Actions
Major Strategies
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Simpler Process

• Assess
• Analyze
• Act

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Assess

• Teachers need frequent information on students
  individual strengths and weaknesses to guide
  instruction.
• Frequent feedback on student progress

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Analyze

• Teachers and school-site administrators need both
  the ability and multiple opportunities to reflect
  on and discuss data.
• PD on how to understand student achievement data
• Structured, data driven discussions focused on
  achievement gap data

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Act

• Teachers need structure and support to make
  targeted changes to meet the needs of all
  students.
• School-wide Focus
• Professional development on how to take action
  on data
• Collaboration time for teachers to work on best
  practices

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CSI Map Kindergarten
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CSI Map Kindergarten
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DIBELS Assessment
Grouping
Knowledge of Child
Curriculum
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Daily Data

• Feedback to the teacher
• The quicker the better
• All teachers use constant feedback as data to
  modify instruction.

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What have we learned from the places that are
improving?
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Collaboration

• Teachers using PD time to take a half-day to
  organize and plan reading together has been
  invaluable.
• -RF principal

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Focus

• We say that we are a basic skills school--thats
  our purpose--thats what were about. We are
  about basic skills, and we intend to do it very
  well.
• -RF principal

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Determination

• I want all our kids succeeding.
• Thats what its all about.
• Its going to happen.
• I have no doubt.
• -RF principal

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Wise use of resources

• Money is not the issue in sustaining the
  program. Having the will is the issue. We have
  the funding we need. Its how you choose to
  prioritize and use the funding that makes the
  difference.
• Is your funding aligned with your mission?
• If not, you will struggle.
• If so, you will succeed.
• --RF principal

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Opportunity determination success

• This is a career moment for us. To have these
  resources (funds, training, data) and this chance
  to make a difference is a once-in-a-career
  opportunity.
• We intend to make the most of it.
• --RF Principal

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I truly believe that with the resources we have
and with the right spirit, we can do it we can
help all students succeed. --RF principal
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Attribute of Reading First Success

• devoting more time to reading instruction
• monitoring student performance and adjusting
  instruction as indicated
• having benchmark targets and goals
• setting following up on high expectations

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Attribute of Success

• Strong instructional leadership
• Strong mentor coach
• Solid curriculum implemented based upon data
• School culture focused on reading success
• Commitment to developing increased capacity to
  sustain the essential elements within the school

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What is your vision for your school over the next
two years of RF funding?

• to get more students to benchmark levels
• to maintain our commitment to RF for the
  duration, to continue working to get better at
  meeting students needs and to sustain our
  improved results over the long run
• to keep supporting each other and keep
  collaborating

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I am very pleased with our staff. Reading First
wasnt always easy, but we stuck with it, and it
has paid off. I am very proud of our staff and
what they do to help all kids succeed.
--RF principal
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A book must be an axe for the frozen seas
within us
Kafka (1904) Letters to Oskar Pollack
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Thank You
Questions/discussion?

• sgreenberg_at_fcrr.org