update.pdf

7/21/2019 update.pdf

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Update

Vol. IV, No. 3, Dec. 2005/Jan.

QL Steering Committee

Susan BayerTeaching Assistants’ Representative

Eileen BowenMYP Coordinator

Sarah CollinsPTA Council & Parent

Patrick FlynnSchool Board Member

Tim Frawley

High School TeacherBillie GammaroCTA President & Co-convener

Mike GinalskiAssistant Superintendent for Instruction &Co-convener

Cheryl JordanHelping Teacher & Rigor Chair

Rick KimbleCFA Principal & Relationships Chair

Bill LosingerTeacher & Relevance Chair

Jeff MarchiondaTeacher

Matthew McGarrityDirector of Personnel Services

Nancy O’LaughlinTeacher

Kathy RauchThe Satori Group, LLC (Communications)

Margaret RoeTeacher

Amy RogoskiThe Satori Group, LLC (Communications)& Parent

Bob RossiNSB Principal

Wayne ScudderTeacher

Fran SeymourTeacher

Judith P. StaplesSuperintendent of Schools

Kristin SwainCorning Incorporated Foundation &Parent

Tom TunneyWinfield Street Principal Al VenetteCommunity Member

165 Charles StreetPainted Post, NY 14870

607-936-3704

www.corningareaschools.com

A t every level throughout the District, pro-

grams are designed and implemented to meet

the individual needs of C-PP students. Fromacademic to social intervention, these pro-grams seek to level the playing field and im-prove instruction and learning for all students.In this issue of QL Update we focus on inter-vention programming in the District.

Erwin Valley’s English LanguageLearners Program

A bulletin board near the entrance of ErwinValley (EV) Elementary School proudly showsmore than 100 students who are either first- orsecond-generation arrivals to the United

States from 33 countries. Many of these stu-dents continue to speak their native lan-guages in the home, and require supplemen-tal English instruction as they make the ad-

justment to a new country and school.

The English Language Learners (ELL) pro-gram, which is completely unique to ErwinValley within the District, is offered to studentsfor whom a language other than English isspoken in the home. The service usually be-gins as a “pull out,” with students working one-on-one or in small groups with Teaching As-sistants. Depending on the level of need, theyreceive services in 36-minute units, five daysa week. For students with more limited Eng-lish proficiency, the emphasis is on acquiringlanguage and vocabulary; those with thegreatest need receive two ELL units eachschool day. Support for intermediate studentsis often provided in the form of pre-teachingvocabulary for Science and Social Studies.

Students qualify for the program based onscores from either the Language AssessmentBattery-revised (lab-r) or the NYSELAT (NewYork State English as a Second Language

Rigor + Relevance + Relationships =Educational Excellence

Intervention Programs Meet Diverse Student Needs

Test). New District students are assessedthe fall with the lab-r, which indicates thlevel of English proficiency. Students remin the program until they achieve a passscore on the NYSELAT, which is admintered to all ELL students in the spring.

According to EV principal Kate Merrill, program has more than doubled this yearserve 22 students. “Thanks to the dedicaTeaching Assistants who deliver this pgram,” she says, “it has remained strong aeffective despite the challenges caused byrapid growth.”

Teaching Assistants Donna Brown, DaGalusha and Marge Neiber run the ELL pgram, working with the students each d“We began in spring 1996 with a little spothe hallway and we have come a long wsince then,” says Marge Neiber. “It is chlenging to work with kids who know no Elish. We use hand gestures and picturescommunicate, and play lots of games to crease language acquisition.”

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English Language Learners TA Donna Brown works wYumi (Japan) and Martin (Germany) at Erwin Valley.

CorningPainted PostAREA SCHOOL DISTRICT



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From the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Mike Ginalski

Every day, through its many intervention programs, C-PP

furthers the Quantum Leap vision of improved instruction andlearning for ALL students in our District.

The most successful of these programs deliver individualized,need-based instruction and support services directly to thosestudents who need it most, bringing Rigor, Relevance and Re-lationships to life in a very meaningful way. Another criticalcomponent of these model programs is their reliance on datato diagnose the need for intervention services, track the pro-gress of participating students and determine if or when stu-dents no longer require services. The final, and perhaps mostimportant, factor for success is the dedicated personnel whotreat each student as an individual and respect their particularneeds and challenges.

Several unique intervention programs are detailed in the pagesof this newsletter, from Erwin Valley’s English LanguageLearners program, which offers intensive English training toyoung arrivals from other countries; to the improved AcademicIntervention Services model now at work in our middleschools; to the innovative WHS Freshman Academy thateases ninth graders into the high school experience. In ourQ&A, you’ll hear from Sue Powers at the Frank Pierce EarlyChildhood Center, who gives new meaning to the term“intervention” through the breadth of services offered to theschool’s students and families.

This is just a small sampling of the wide array of intervention

programs offered by the District in support of students who arestruggling in at least one specific way. It is through these pro-grams that C-PP can best address the needs of our chal-lenged students, and to ensure that no C-PP child is left be-hind.

As we start the new year, it seems appropriate to feature theseprograms that are so critical to improving student achievementfor all students and addressing our District in Need of Improve-ment (DINI) issues. With your talent and hard work, we willmeet the individual needs of all our students. Here’s lookingforward to a productive, education-filled 2006!

Mike Ginalski

Quantum Leap Q&A: Sue Powers discusses Frank Pierce Early Development Center’s Focuson Early Intervention

QL: How long have you been a part of the Frank

Pierce team?SP: I came to Frank Pierce when it opened as an EaChildhood Center in 1991, as the half-time CoordinatorPreschool Special Education Services. I started full-time1992 as the Coordinator of Preschool Special Educatiand became an administrator in 2002. Currently, as Supesor of Special Education for the District, I split my time tween supervising the 6:1:1 programs at EV, NSB and WHoverseeing various other Pupil Personnel Services responbilities, supervising all Preschool Special Education pgrams and services, and being the building administratorFrank Pierce.

QL: Describe some changes in early education and intervention services you’ve seen over the years.SP: More than ever before, the Frank Pierce programrecognized as an important component of the District’s ecation continuum from Pre-K to grade 12. Since 2002, weimplemented a number of new programs, many of them dsigned to identify or meet the specific needs and challengof the District’s youngest students, including: An Early Literacy Curriculum, fully aligned with District K

dergarten curricula. A research-based social skills program called “Seco

Step.” An age-appropriate version of the K-Grade 5 Writi

Reading Workshop Program used in District element

schools, developed by Frank Pierce staff. Integration of Mathematics and Science with the Early

eracy Curriculum. Increased Intervention Services for the Frank Pierce fa

lies, featuring more Parent Education Workshops. Increased data-driven decision making, including form

tion of a Building Data Team to analyze and interpbuilding data.

In addition, we’ve implemented an Individual Child Assement that is administered three times yearly based on HeStart Learning Outcomes and NYS Pre-K Standards. Wthe help of John Nelson, a community representative on oBuilding Leadership Team (BLT), we’ve developed an

companying computer program to collect data from assement to drive program needs and improvements.

QL: Describe the Early Intervention Services offered tFrank Pierce students and the diagnostics in place forassessing incoming and current students. SP: Because of the unique make-up of our student popution, our evaluations are very comprehensive, and begin fore or at the time of application to our program. Referralsour program by parents and staff for evaluations typica

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From the Superintendent

Dr. Judith P. Staples

From theCTA President

Billie Gammaro

Teachers are not successful unless their students are s

cessful. Teachers actively seek strategies to help all studesucceed. Truly, no one wants any child left behind. Losing evone child is not acceptable. When a child “fails,” we all “fail.”

Educational systems respond with various programs and intventions to help struggling students. Preparing to write this acle, I completed a “Yahoo! Search” and found 204,000 entrunder Educational Interventions for Struggling StudenClearly, there are thousands of directions we could take dcussing this topic. There are too many students who are acquiring the skills and achieving the success that we, as edcators and parents, want them to attain.

When a struggling student is sitting in your classroom day a

day, it becomes an important challenge to find ways to help hTeachers seek information/help by reading, researching bpractices, asking questions, learning from others, seekstrategies that work, discussing possibilities, and advocating changes to improve our programs. Committed teachers activsearch for ways to improve their teaching and student learnin

I recently spent an hour with a group of C-PP teachers who “tthe talk” and “walk the walk” of committed teachers. Throughself-directed book study group, these primary educators tackling issues such as struggling students, educational intventions and grassroots efforts to improve instruction and leaing. Listening to this group, you’ll become an advocate for c

centrating our efforts and resources in those early childhoand primary grade levels. Speak with this group and you’ll come a believer that early interventions can make a differenJoin this group and you’ll hear about researching best practicto insure that every young child learns how to read. Dream wthis group about changes in our system that might help improeducational opportunities for young children and eliminate need for so many interventions at the middle and high schlevels. To learn more about this group and its efforts in Readinterventions, review the Recommended Reading article Page 7 of this issue of QL Update. The excerpted passagefrom the book they’ve been discussing over the last year.

As President of the Corning Teachers’ Association and MenProgram Coordinator, I interact with teachers and administratdaily. Examples of dedicated educators are prevalent throuout our District. This school district is committed to improvinstruction and learning. Collaboratively, we will do whatever need to do. We truly want no child left behind.

Billie Gamma

It has been a long-standing tradition

in the Corning-Painted Post School District that the schoolsare committed to doing everything they can to provide astrong educational program for students. The District hashired a very strong staff over the years who have been lead-ers in developing programs that offer a wide variety of con-tent and methods to meet every student’s needs. Very inno-vative intervention programs have been created to supportstudent learning at every level.

We have seen the successes of the High School LearningCenter, International Baccalaureate, and our Academic Inter-vention Services. We are now experiencing the planningstages of a consistent elementary Reading series and anearly childhood program involving the training of parents.

There are pockets of unique programs and ideas being im-plemented in many departments throughout the District andcertainly outstanding teaching being conducted daily in theclassrooms of our schools.

In spite of budget limitations, much is happening and theoutcomes are the proof! Our graduates go on to fine institu-tions of higher education, accomplish outstanding achieve-ments in careers and make significant contributions to busi-nesses, industries and community life. As we move forwardwith the Master Planning process, we can only imaginewhere we will be in five years with concrete goals and a uni-fied effort to reach the targets.

It’s a new year with new energy focused on the success ofour students. Let’s continue working together on all that wecan do to provide the very best educational program. Pleasealso let me express my thanks to the fine professional staffmembers and my administrative council for their continuingefforts to provide the best for everyone. Together we cancontinue to move forward!

Judith P. Staples



provides AIS instruction toeligible sixth graders andhalf of the seventh gradersat CFA. His colleague, TomGoldbourn, provides serviceto the balance of CFA’s AISstudents.

AIS is a state-mandated pro-gram designed to help stu-dents who find learning diffi-

cult. Students with needs inparticular subjects are usu-ally identified by the resultsof a state assessment. Or,they can be identified asstruggling with a specific skill(organization, literacy, com-prehension, processing) inthe classroom. AIS teachers work with these studentshelp them improve.

Beginning in September 2005, AIS is delivered to studeat both CFA and Northside Blodgett through a regula

scheduled class of no more than 10 students. This structallows the teacher to work individually with each studenhelp them master some of the needed proficiencies.

“The new program offers the best of both worlds,” says Kurchey. “For the first time, the AIS students have a scific time set aside to help them with a wide range of sdevelopment and mastery. They miss none of their subjmatter classes, and in fact, they are now are able to takeextra Related Arts class of their own choosing.”

In the past, AIS was provided through a combination of clusion and “pull out” programming. “We used to provservices only by supporting their actual academic ende

ors, which left little time to focus on the remedial gaps tare keeping these kids from learning.”

According to CFA principal Rick Kimble, AIS students nare receiving services in a way that is deliberate, intentioand data-driven. “Research shows that the earlier deficiecies are addressed, the better students will rebound,” says. “As the program progresses, we will look at the dato identify which interventions were most successful.”

During his Intervention classes, Mr. Kurchey covers bgrade-appropriate curricula that students are learningtheir core subjects, as well as mastery of basic facts. Sdents meet every other day on a six-day cycle. The clameeting schedule typically includes: Basic Math skills aquizzes, English Language Arts skills (listening, oral Reing and comprehension), and a particular lesson or skill the day. The sessions always include Mr. Kurchey reada short passage to the students, often a topical selectrelevant to the students’ lives. When students are strugglwith a lesson or skill in their academic coursework, he woften review it carefully with them. “There’s no easy fix these kids. AIS must support the entire child, so the formfor my class is by necessity adaptable,” says Mr. Kurch“There’s no prescribed curriculum.”

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“Even students who are more advanced need the interven-tion,” agrees Dawn Galusha. “They’re still speaking their nativelanguages at home, which we encourage because many ofthem will be going back to their home countries eventually.”According to the Teaching Assistants, most students becomeconversant in English within about three months, but it takesmuch longer to achieve proficiency. There is no standard forthe length of time students remain in the program, but manyreceive the service for as long as three years.

Often, international families will move to Erwin Valley’sneighborhood specifically so their children will be able to takeadvantage of the ELL program. “Most families appreciate theextra boost that their child is receiving through the program,”says Mrs. Merrill. “Occasionally there is some resistance asthe parent fears their child is missing out on something in theclassroom or that they are being singled out, but these issuesare usually resolved and rarely will a family refuse the service.”

The Erwin ValleyELL program isa model for de-livering data-based interven-

tion services,and reinforcesthe LearningGoals of Quan-tum Leap. Typi-cally, participat-ing students areextremely brightand education-ally oriented,with a desire to

be achieve. The Rigorous ELL program gives them the tools tosucceed. The program is particularly Relevant as students

move beyond conversational English to learning curricular vo-cabulary. Relationships are built and strengthened as theTeaching Assistants help students and their families developpositive home/school support. In addition, participating stu-dents often work in small groups, building friendships acrossthe school community with students who speak the same lan-guage and with peers who speak different languages.

“We often learn as much from these kids as they do from us —about their culture and even a bit of their languages,” saysMrs. Neiber. “What could be more Relevant than learning thelanguage that surrounds you every day at school and in thecommunity.”

Middle School Academic Intervention ServicesBenefit from Modified SchedulingRichard Kurchey has been providing Academic InterventionServices (AIS) to students at Corning Free Academy (CFA) fornearly 13 years. This year, for the first time, he sees all of hisAIS students every other day — delivering five dedicated peri-ods of intervention each day, with increased access to stu-dents at other times as well. The modified scheduling is a re-sult of the District’s recent work with scheduling consultantElliot Merinbloom to determine a more effective way to delivercritical intervention services to middle schoolers. Mr. Kurchey

(Continued from page 1)

Second graders Abdul (Pakistan), Alex (China) andSanjana (India) work with TA Marge Nieber.

AIS Instructor Richard Kurcheyassists seventh graders with bamath facts.



IB Progress Report:MYP Authorization Visits Complete;Building Teams Formed

Progress continues as C-PP engages in deeper implemen-

tation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Offer-ing the IB programs to C-PP middle and high school students

is a critical component of Quantum Leap, which is designed toincrease collaboration by teachers across subject areas anddisciplines to bring Rigor, Relevance and Relationships intothe classroom at every level, every day.

IB Building Teams were established in late fall at each of thefour secondary schools. While the DP does not require schoolspecific committees, they are strongly suggested by theMYP. These committees are designed to instill ownership forthe program at the building level, and committee membersare will serve as the primary communicators and advocates ofthe program within their buildings. Also, the committees willhelp determine the overall direction the program implementa-tion takes at the building and District levels. Each committee

is comprised of the following representatives, but anyone in-terested is welcome to serve:

building principal;MYP coordinators Eileen Bown and Mike Maxwell;DP coordinators Carol Casbeer and Kathy Honness (on

both high school committees); guidance counselor, and at least one teacher from each of the eight MYP subject

areas (all grade levels are represented).

Middle Years Program

C-PP recently entered the final stage of the MYP authoriza-

tion process as official site visits took place on Dec. 1-2 forCFA and East, and on Dec. 5-6 for Northside Blodgett andWest. During their visits, International Baccalaureate NorthAmerica (IBNA) Authorization Team members met with teach-ers, administrators, MYP coordinators, Board of Educationrepresentatives, parents and members of the community toassess District readiness.

According to Eileen Bowen, District MYP Coordinator, re-sponse from the MYP Authorization Team was positive. In anexit interview subsequent to the recent visit, the team citedthe District for the following specific areas of commendation:

School and District leadership – including a firm commit-ment from the Board of Education and central administra-tion – focused on implementing the MYP vision and assur-ing success at every level.

Strong program coordination.Embracing the IB philosophy as an inclusive continuum of

programs comprised of the MYP through the Diploma Pro-gram (DP).

Strong financial and community support for the program,including the vision of the Corning Incorporated Foundationand Corning Incorporated’s international perspective.

Staff in all four buildings for their understanding of the MYP,their development and implementation of formal unit plans, and

their use of guiding questions and assessment techniqueEast and West teachers’ collaborative efforts to make

program work at the high school level was emphasizedthey exhibit sophistication and exceptional progress in derstanding and implementing the MYP model not usuaseen in high schools at such an early stage in the process

Training opportunities have been offered to C-PP teachemany utilizing outside MYP trainers. The quality and quanof assessment training and the use of helping teachersunderstand the role of assessment in the learning proce

also were cited. Likewise, the District was commended focusing its staff development days on alignment and artilation of its curriculum, which reinforces MYP requirements

The focus of the special education department, and the thusiasm of the arts, technology, Language B and PE partments. Student Support Services was also mentioned their emphasis on student needs.

Student ambassadors were wonderful representatives their schools.

“Our teachers are making tremendous progress in implemeing this program,” said Ms. Bowen, “Based on the commefrom the MYP Authorization Team exit interview, I am confidthe site visit confirmed this. I’m very optimistic that we’ll recenotice of authorization in the spring. I want to thank all

teachers and administrators who have worked so hard and fast to get the MYP up and running in our middle and hschools. It has been challenging, but I am certain their hwork will pay off for the students of our District.”

Pursuant to the site visits, the IBNA Authorization Commitwill review the MYP Authorization Team report in January 20and submit a recommendation for or against C-PP’s authorition to the IBO in Geneva, Switzerland. After an additioround of review, the IBO Director General will make the fidecision in mid to late April as the final step in the process. TDistrict will receive official notification of his decision at ttime. Once authorized to provide the MYP certificate, the Dtrict must be re-authorized every four years thereafter.

Diploma Program

New banners at both high schools

now proudly announce East andWest as IB “World Schools.” As DPimplementation continues for jun-iors and seniors, DP teacher meet-ings are taking place regularly toshare concerns and information,and to coordinate schedules to en-sure student workloads and expec-tations are manageable and thatstudent needs are being met. In addition, DP Parent and Sdent Meetings are being scheduled after the first of the yearcommunicate with families and address parents’ and studenquestions and concerns.



include the District’s NYS Approved Preschool EvaluationTeam. Mandated evaluations for this process include physical,observation, social history and psychological components.

Within 45 days of enrollment, each student undergoes a bat-tery of social, developmental and health assessments. Theseinclude home visits and screenings by classroom teachersand specialist to gauge general health, vision, hearing, dental,height and weight. Also, Individual Child Assessments andclassroom observations are conducted three times per year

by a Mental Health Prevention Specialist to assess social andemotional development. Individual and small group counsel-ing are provided as a follow-up as needed. When necessary,Individual Educational Plan (IEP) services are assessed andprovided in the areas of Speech Therapy, Occupational Ther-apy, Physical Therapy and Special Education Itinerant Teach-ing Services. And, we refer our students to outside specialistsand agencies when additional support is needed. Finally, Na-tional Reporting Systems assessments of Head Start four-year-olds take place each fall and spring. The bottom line isthat our classroom teachers establish plans to benefit the de-velopmental needs of each individual learner and we rally what-ever services are needed to set them on the path to success.

QL: Describe how interventions and services to familiesbenefit the students and fit in with the holistic approachyou use to serve your students.SP: Our philosophy is to provide individualized family inter-ventions in order to strengthen the family unit. Ultimately,stronger families equate to higher learning outcomes for chil-dren. In the beginning of the school year, our Family Workerswork with parents to conduct Individual Family Strength As-sessments. Family Plans are developed according to theirneeds, and we work together all year to meet the goals andobjectives identified through this process.

In addition, parents are surveyed each fall to determine theirinterest in or need for Parent Education. A group of parentsworks with our three Family Workers to design and implementweekly Parent Education Workshops (called PANDA PAS) inthe areas of greatest need/interest. Ongoing home visits byboth classroom staff and family workers help to ensure thatboth family and student needs are being met year-round.

Other interventions we offer to support our families include ayear-round Clothing Room and Household Items Pantry rightin the building. We are a clearinghouse for donations from thecommunity, which are then offered to our families at nocharge and with no questions asked. In addition, we coordi-nate monthly food distributions to 50 families at Frank Piercein partnership with the Southern Tier Food Pantry. Also, our

Family Workers transport students and family members tomedical appointments, to school and Social Services agen-cies. They help them prepare for and pass their G.E.D.s andguide them to job opportunities.

In addition to the support we offer, we have many opportuni-ties for parent participation. In fact, we expect our families tobe our partners in their child’s education. Our Policy Commit-tee meets monthly for shared decision making. Its composi-tion is 51% Head Start staff and 49% community member-ship, including representation from our Pre-K parents andother community members, as well as our Board of Education


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representative, NancyMcLaughlin. In addi-tion, we have parentrepresentation on allbuilding committees.Our classrooms holdregular Parent Advi-sory Group Meetingsto discuss curriculum,hold special eventsand allow parents tooffer input. Childcare isprovided during allmeetings where thereis parent participation.

QL: Discuss the im-pact of your team ofteachers.SP: The entire FrankPierce Staff is passion-ate regarding Early Childhood Education and are dedicato our children, their families and our mission! The teachstaff has worked diligently on aligning our curriculum with

District’s Kindergarten curriculum and has spent numerohours attending staff development opportunities and servon District committees to learn about the school-aged leaing expectations. Over the past three summers, the sworked as a group to develop our present Early ChildhoCurriculum and then to integrate mathematics, science asocial skills development into that curriculum. In addition, team is well represented on C-PP’s current Master PlannProcess, with eight staff members serving on the EaChildhood Task Force and two members serving on Core Team.

QL: Describe the importance of the relationships you’

fostered with Frank Pierce families.SP: Our relationships with children and families are vpositive. We value our parents and recognize them as pners in their children’s development and education. Becauof our level of parent involvement, many long-lasting frieships between staff and parents have developed over years. We often hear statements from parents like, “Wreally miss Frank Pierce. Can we come back?” Many parecontinue to volunteer years after their child leaves school. They feel a sense of belonging and we are gratefor their assistance.

QL: How do QL's Learning Goals of Rigor, Relevance

and Relationships fit in?SP: The early intervention programs and services offeredour students and families here at Frank Pierce are richsubstance, broad in context and deep in their reach into community. As a result of our small staff’s hard work, we able to provide a Rigorous, Relevant curriculum and habeen able to maintain and improve our working Relatioships with children, families and community partners. We completely aligned with the Quantum Leap initiative.

Frank Pierce’s Sue Powers sits among st

dents at a holiday assembly.



Recommended Reading“Overcoming Dyslexia”

A group of C-PP primary teachers have met regularly to

discuss the book, Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz,M.D., which offers an approach to Reading intervention thatis applicable at every grade level and for every type of Read-ing delay. The content and discussion of the book has had a

significant impact on these C-PP teachers and their approachto Reading. Contact Margaret Roe ([email protected]) tolearn more about the discussion group. The following passageis excerpted and edited from the book:

Childhood is a time for learning. A child who delays breaking thephonetic code will miss much of the reading practice that is es-sential to building fluency and vocabulary; as a consequence, hewill fall further and further behind in acquiring comprehensionskills and knowledge of the world around him. To see this hap-pen to a child is sad, all the more because it is preventable.

Luckily, parents can play an active role in the early identificationof a reading problem. All that is required is an observant parentwho knows what she is looking for and who is willing to spend

time with her child listening to him speak and read. The specificsigns of dyslexia, both weaknesses and strengths, in any oneindividual will vary according to the age and educational level ofthat person. The five-year-old who can’t quite learn his lettersbecomes the six-year-old who can’t match sounds to letters andthe fourteen-year-old who dreads reading out loud and thetwenty-four-year-old who reads excruciatingly slowly. Thethreads persist throughout a person’s life. The key is knowinghow to recognize them at different periods during development.

Clues to Dyslexia in Early ChildhoodThe earliest clues involve mostly spoken language. The very firstclue to a language (and reading) problem may be delayed lan-guage. Once the child begins to speak, look for the followingproblems:

The Preschool Years

Trouble learning common nursery rhymes such as “Jack andJill” and “Humpty Dumpty.”

A lack of appreciation of rhymes.

Mispronounced words; persistent baby talk.

Difficulty in learning (and remembering) names of letters.

Failure to know the letters in his own name.

Kindergarten and First Grade

Failure to understand that words come apart; for example,that batboy can be pulled apart into bat and boy, and, lateron, that the word bat can be broken down and sounded outas: “b” “aaaa” “t.”

Inability to learn to associate letters with sounds, such as be-ing unable to connect the letter b with the “b” sound.

Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of theletters; for example, the word big is read as goat.

The inability to read common one-syllable words or to soundout even the simplest of words, such as mat, cat, hop, nap.

Complaints about how hard reading is, or running and hidingwhen it is time to read.

A history of reading problems in parents or siblings.

In addition to the problems of speaking and reading, youshould be looking for these indications of strengths in higher-level thinking processes: curiosity, great imagination, ability

to figure things out, embraces new ideas, getting the gistthings, surprising maturity, large vocabulary for age, enjosolving puzzles, talent at building models and strong ocomprehension.

Clues to Dyslexia From Second Grade On slow to acquire reading skills

lacks approach new words

gets the gist of things

surprising maturity

failure to sound out words

omitting parts of words inability to read “function” words (an, in)

avoids reading for pleasure

inaccurate, choppy oral reading

fear of reading out loud

stumbles on multi-syllable words

avoids oral reading

oral reading lacks inflection

disastrous spelling

relies on context for understanding

trouble finishing tests on time

doesn’t enjoy reading

lowered self-esteem

better understands words in context than isolated single word poor performance on multiple choice tests

trouble reading mathematics word problems

substitutes words with the same meaning (car for automobil

recruits parents as readers for homework

messy handwriting despite nimble fingers

difficulty learning a foreign language

reading accuracy improves over time, but lacks fluency

family history of reading, spelling, and foreign language problem

In addition to signs of a phonologic weakness, there are signs strengths in higher-level thinking processes:

Excellent thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagition, abstraction.

Learns best through meaning rather than rote memorization Ability to get the “big picture.”

A high level of understanding of what is read to him.

Reads and understands at a high level highly practiced woin a special area of interest.

A surprisingly sophisticated listening vocabulary.

Excellence in areas not dependent on reading, such as macomputers, and visual arts, or excellence in more concept(versus factoid-driven) subjects such as philosophy, biolosocial studies, neuroscience, and creative writing.

These clues across the life span offer a portrait of dyslexExamine them carefully, think about them, and determineany of these clues fit your child, you, or someone else you a

close to. Look for clues in the weaknesses and strengtIdentifying the weaknesses makes it possible to spot dyslein children before they are expected to read and in adults ter they have developed some degree of reading accuracy are continuing to show the remnants of earlier problemreading slowly and with great effort.

Edited and reformatted from an online excerpt from the Hardcoedition. The complete excerpt is available at the following on

link: www.schwablearning.org/articles.asp?r=733&g=1



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for ‘our’ kids.”The programhas given theteam teachersmore flexibilityin planningtheir course-work. For ex-ample, if oneteacher needsadditional timefor an in-depthproject, theycan make ar-rangementswith the otherteachers to extend a class period.

The Freshman Academy program is designed to enhanRigor, Relevance and Relationships for average students, awill ultimately service a majority of the freshman populatiThe program will be expanded to include more WHS studenext year, and a Pilot Program will be launched for East sdents as well. “We are all very lucky to work for a District t

is willing to make student-centered decisions,” says Mrs. Cafield, “I feel very fortunate to work in a building where the aministration — in particular Assistant Principal Ardith Kurchwho is a huge part of this team — explores and implemenew opportunities designed to enhance success!”

Questions or comments about this newsletter? Please e-mailMike Ginalski at: [email protected]

QUANTUM LEAP

VisionThe C-PP Area School District is a model school districtfor creating a new equation for educational excellence.

MissionThrough excellent leadership and teaching in a

collaborative environment, we will provide the educationaopportunities to ensure all students have the skills to be pro

ductive, responsible adults and contributing citizens.

Learning Goal #1 — RIGOR: All students will demonstramastery of the fundamental skills and competencies needfor success in a rapidly changing world.

Learning Goal #2 — RELEVANCE: All students will demostrate readiness for adult roles by applying fundamental acdemic skills and competencies to personal, community aworkplace settings.

Learning Goal #3 — RELATIONSHIPS: All students, pents and community will work together to create a positivrespectful environment that supports excellence in learninteaching and leadership.

Rigor + Relevance + Relationships =Educational Excellence

According to Mr. Kimble, the administrators at both middleschools are excited about the new program, and are lookingforward to seeing results soon in the form of improved stu-dent test scores and abilities. The newly revitalized MiddleSchool AIS program brings Rigor, Relevance and Relation-ships directly to those students who need it most.

West High School Pilots Freshman AcademyAccording to Michelle Caulfield, West High School’s Fresh-

man Academy pilot program features a team approach totransitioning eighth grade students into the high school set-ting. Along with her colleagues Jenny Quackenbush (GlobalHistory), Tom Ring (Earth Science), Ann Marcellin (Math)and Bill Pierce and Claude Treusdell (Resource Room), Mrs.Caulfield (English) is working to provide an environment inwhich students can develop a confident voice and feel com-fortable seeking help.

The goals of the program are to improve grades and createstronger, more conscious members of the community, aswell as to give the students a sense of accomplishmentalong with a solid skills base to take with them throughoutthe rest of their high school career and beyond.

“We have aligned our curriculum so students will see asmuch overlap in skills as possible with the hope of providinga stronger knowledge base,” says Mrs. Caulfield. The 100participants in this year’s pilot represent a broad spectrum ofability, including 20 Resource Room students.

“Ninth graders have historically struggled to assimilate intohigh school,” says Mrs. Caulfield. “The Freshman Academyis specifically designed to help them build life skills andhealthy relationships with teachers and peers to create afoundation for a positive high school experience. In addition,we have two Resource Room teachers providing interventionservices and assistance for students with a variety of accom-

modations.”In the current program structure, the Freshman Academystudents travel together from class to class. In addition to thefour core subjects, students benefit from an additional“freshman advisory” period which meets every other day.Mrs. Caulfield says, “We have chosen a character educationtheme for the freshman advisory period, and we also ad-dress basic organizational and accountability skills. It is ac-tivity-based to provide hands-on exercises that willstrengthen students’ confidence in academics and in buildingrelationships with their peers.”

The program is already having the desired impact on stu-

dents as expressed by Freshman Samantha Hitman whosays, “I trust my teachers, and can tell them if another stu-dent is doing something I don’t like,” and “I think I’ll enjoy mytime at West.”

At least twice weekly, the teachers meet to discuss curricula,scheduling and individual student needs. “Collaborating as ateam has made our job as teachers much easier. We nowknow what each other is doing and can plan our tests andassignments in a fashion that doesn't overwhelm our stu-dents. We all feel a sense of family, and share responsibility


Jenny Quackenbush’s Freshman Academy advisory clameets every other day to strengthen study and life skills

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