Parker Reading
November 01, 2009
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Now that the school year is successfully underway and we’ve all
settled into our daily routines, I’d like to visit with you about
something new at Parker Elementary this year. I’m sure most of you
have heard about the “No Child Left Behind” legislation and the
challenges it presents. The rewards for meeting the state’s
“Standard of Excellence” are commonplace at Parker, but our
teachers and staff have never worried too much about those
requirements because we believe there are better methods for
tracking student achievement and because our performance has always
exceeded state mandates. We believe and can show that our students
are among the very best in academic achievement. We also believe,
however, that there is always room for improvement.
Because we are always looking for ways to improve, we have
restructured our reading program so that more teachers can work
with smaller groups of students for longer periods of time. Before
school began this year, the teachers and I grouped our 4th and 5th
graders according to their academic needs based on last year’s MAP
assessments, state tests, reading levels, and other data. The MAP
assessments are online tests designed to identify student strengths
and probe their weaker areas in both reading and math. They also
provide us with an immense amount of detailed information that we
use to tailor our instruction for each of our students.
Armed with this data, Mrs. Pope (5th Grade), Mrs. Mahon (4th
Grade), Mrs. Holt (Reading Specialist), and Mrs. Boyles
(Interrelated Teacher) are working with small groups of students
for an entire hour each day on general reading skills but also on
those skills identified as being weaker for that specific group. In
addition, we have arranged our schedule so that aides and
paraprofessionals are involved in the instruction sharing their
special talents and helping to ensure that all students are engaged
for the entire hour. These groups will change frequently as more
data is gathered (we are just finishing up with our fall MAP
testing and that data will be used to help identify student needs).
This arrangement provides more support not only for those students
who are struggling but also makes it easier to provide enrichment
for those students who have mastered learning goals. The school is
also investigating ways to recognize and reward those students who
have made gains in their learning instead of just those students
who earn all A’s. We feel we have designed a more comprehensive
approach to reading instruction and are excited about the progress
we will make. Students seem to enjoy the groups as well!
For now, this approach only applies to the 4th, 5th, and, to a
limited extent, 3rd grades. However, we intend to address the
primary grades before too long as well. Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd
graders still receive all the support and instruction that they
have always received and their schooling has been compromised in no
way whatsoever. What we are doing is a work-in-progress that we
feel will continue to gain momentum and produce results whereby all
students achieve to the utmost of their ability. We welcome your
input and questions and hope to share more with you at conference
time next week.
Sincerely,
Mark R. Staab
