The
State Board of Education has launched the Alabama Reading Initiative to
achieve a 100% literacy rate. To accomplish that goal, teachers and
administrators at 16 schools were selected last year as literacy
demonstration sites. They are excited about the improvement they've already
seen in their students.
"About 95 percent
of our students receive free or reduced-price lunch, and
over 50 percent are from single-parent homes," said Annie Crandle, principal
of Whitley Elementary School in Mobile County, one of the literacy
demonstration sites. "The Reading Initiative has changed the attitudes and
beliefs of our teachers. There is a sense of unity. Our students are
fired-up!"The
initiative began with a panel of educators from K-12 and higher
education and representatives of business and industry conducting months of
research on teaching reading. They devised a plan based on the research that
emphasizes not only beginning reading, but strengthening and expanding
students' reading ability, and providing strong intervention for students
who are struggling to read and comprehend.
The faculties at all
16 literacy demonstration sites have received intensive
training, and each is a partner with a college or university that has agreed
to provide continuing support and training. The state Board of Education
wants to train as many teachers as possible and is seeking the funding to do
so.
This
information quoted from Alabama Education News.
You can
contact ARI at the following address and phone numbers:
South Alabama Research and Inservice Center
College of Education
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama 36688
334-380-2741(voice)
334-380-2707 (fax)
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