We Believe...
Reading is Important...
The development of strong reading skills is the foundational academic ability required for all learning in school and throughout adult life. Reading difficulties are the most common cause of academic failure and underachievement. Children who fall behind at an early age (K and grade 1) fall further behind over time. According to researchers at Yale, three-quarters of students who are poor readers at the end of third grade will continue to be poor readers in high school. For low-income children, reading readiness gaps fuel what later become achievement gaps, but we know children can learn to read and the vast majority of students can master foundational reading skills if taught appropriately using the evidence base.
Early Literacy Screening...
Because children entering Kindergarten start with varying skill levels, it is important to identify and provide the necessary skills in the beginning of their academic career for success. Early intervention can prevent failure later in the child’s educational career. For some children, reading will not be difficult, but we know if taught the five components of reading success identified by the NRP, NELP, and the IES on Foundational and Comprehension Skills, all will benefit. Waiting to fail is not an appropriate option.
Good Reading Program in Schools…
The National Reading Panel (NRP) was formed, tasked by Congress to review all available research and provide, with evidence, an analysis of the best methods for teaching reading. This resulted in the creation of the report, “Teaching Children to Read” (2000), which included the five areas of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) report "Developing Early Literacy" (2008) provided further evidence to support the identified areas along with the importance of oral language development. The Institute of Education Research (IES) practice guides “Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade”(2010), Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade (2016) and The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) documents on Structured Literacy (SL) are used to support instruction and intervention.
Others Can Help…
While teachers play an important role in learning to read others can help. Speech and Language Professionals already have tremendous knowledge of the language acquisition process in young children. They can provide extra support in school or out. Parents are another key piece of the education puzzle for children who struggle by supporting their child’s outside interest to build their self-esteem. For older students assistance with accessible technologies such as audio books and computer apps are helpful for students to “keep up” with their peers in school.