|
 A $200,000 literacy grant was
awarded to the Mifflin County School
District by state Senator Jake Corman
on Thursday, January 4, 2008. Monies
from the grant will be used to
increase professional development, to
enhance literacy programs the
district currently has in place, and
to expand the literacy programs to
all elementary and middle schools.
Identified students in
grades K-2 in several
elementary schools have
benefited from
Imagination Station, an
interactive, standards
based, computer program
for reading intervention
that is individualized to
meet student needs and is
delivered through the
internet along with
appropriate intervention
by trained teachers.
Imagination Station
focuses on the following
areas of reading: book
and print awareness,
phonemic awareness,
phonics, vocabulary, and
comprehension. Students
interact with the program
during the day and, in
some cases, during
after-school programs.
Pre- and post-
assessments are given
incrementally, and
student progress is
continually monitored.
The results of collected
data and also the added
interest in reading are
encouraging. Part of the
$200,000 grant will allow
for an expansion of this
program to all elementary
schools in the district.
Soliloquy Learning, a
computer reading
assistant program
implemented during the
2007-08 school year for
identified students in
grades 6-8, is a 12-week
after-school tutoring
program. Similar to
Imagination Station,
Soliloquy is
standards-based and
individualized to meet
the needs of the student.
Reports of pre- and
post-assessments are
given and progress is
monitored.
Professional development
will include LETRS
(Language Essentials for
Teachers of Reading and
Spelling) training. Based
on the most current
research, LETRS is a
professional development
program that provides
teachers with an
understanding of the
following:
-
how students learn to
read and write
-
the reasons that some
students fail to
learn to read, spell,
or write
-
the instructional
strategies best
supported by research
-
assessment practices
that guide
research-based
instruction
 Senator Corman
stated that education is
a good place to invest
and the Mifflin County
School District had
already invested in
literacy with Imagination
Station, Soliloquy, and
LETRS through other
grants that have been
appropriated to the
district.
Mr.
Runk, MCSD
Superintendent, expressed
that the "grant
reinforces to the staff
and community that the
literacy program is
important and is
working."
"What
does this mean to the
parent? That the MCSD is
committed that all
children should and can
read."
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Ms.
Sigler, Director of
Federal Programs and
Staff Development and
Language Arts Curriculum
Coordinator, added, “We
appreciate the state
funding because it will
enable us to continue the
important work in
literacy that we began a
few years ago. Based on
the best research
available and on our own
successes, we know that
virtually all students
can learn to read. It is
our job to make that
happen.” |
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