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REXBURG - Some of us take reading for granted.We read cereal boxes in the
morning, along with the comics and the sports page. We read at work. We read at school. We read bumper stickers on the cars we're behind on the way home. And maybe we read just before we go to bed.
Now, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation is helping five eastern Idaho school districts launch a three-year initiative to make sure students struggling to read learn to do it with ease.
The districts - Madison, Clark County, Idaho Falls, Bonneville and Snake River - were selected to take part in The Open Book Initiative, which aims to have 90 percent of all students in participating schools reading at their grade level in three years.
"This isn't a money grant," said Janet Goodliffe, a Madison School District spokeswoman. "It's a training program."
The initiative is set to begin in the fall. But from now through summer, teachers and principals will be trained on how best to help students who struggle to read, Goodliffe said. "Our goal is to ensure that Idaho teachers and principals are aware of and are using state-of-the-art reading-instruction methods," said Craig Olson, executive director of the foundation, in a news release. "In some cases, this will require teachers to make major changes in the way they teach students to read."
Teachers' commitment, Goodliffe said, was something the foundation looked at when selecting schools. "It's taken a tremendous commitment on the part of teachers to get into this," she said. "They looked down the road before they picked who'd participate."
The program emphasizes reading proficiency in kindergarten through eighth grade.
In each district, the Albertson Foundation will buy out the contract of a teacher and train him or her as a reading specialist. That teacher will work one-on-one with students and also will train colleagues on the latest teaching skills and how to spot a struggling child.
"If you're teaching fifth or sixth grade, the curriculum assumes the students know how to read," Goodliffe said. "But some are struggling. Our teachers need to know how to reach out to these kids."
The program also will bring AimsWeb, a computer-based reading monitor, into the schools. That, along with other programs, will help teachers identify specific reading problems, going beyond a student saying he or she doesn't like to read.
"If, for instance, they're having trouble in vocabulary fluency or phonics, teachers can help with those problems specifically," Goodliffe said.
The program also offers districts $20,000 over three years to spend on reading-related supplies.
Madison also will get $45,000 a year for three years for early-childhood reading development. That money will be used in the district's popular Parents as Teachers program, which offers training and advice to parents raising young children.
"We're really excited about that component," Goodliffe said. "We're excited to continue (that program) another three years."
The Open Book Initiative was developed by educators throughout Idaho and
the nation.
Upper Valley reporter/editor Brian Davidson may be contacted at the Post Register's Rexburg office at 656-0101, or via e-mail at bdavidson@idahonews.com.
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