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This state-allocated, federally funded grant was awarded to our Educational Services division for a program to enhance literacy in the Springfield, Vermont secondary schools. It brings together the specialized expertise of the National Institute at Landmark College, and the knowledge and resources of Springfield High School, Riverside Middle School, and the River Valley Technical Center, which serve a diverse range of students.
In spring 2001, local action planning teams in the Springfield School District identified the improvement of reading as a major need in the school district. They turned to Landmark College to become their grant partner in this endeavor.
| The goals of the two-year project include the following elements: |
| Identify and train local teacher-leaders in research-based strategies that enhance students' reading comprehension, especially in analytical comprehension of non-fiction texts. These leaders represent various curricular areas, including core, technical, and special education. |
| Support teacher leaders throughout Year One as they integrate strategies into their curriculum and lesson plans. Teacher-leaders compile their model lessons and practices into a "Literacy Across the Curriculum" Handbook. |
| Expand the literacy training model to remaining faculty during the summer and fall of Year Two. |
| Support remaining faculty during Year Two (by teacher-leaders) in school-wide implementation of strategies in all content areas. |
The grant was awarded in February 2001.Year One activities included week-long training at the Landmark College campus for 9 teacher-leaders from the Springfield schools, and the establishment of an online discussion group for those teachers and their Landmark College trainer. The initial group met throughout the rest of Year One. In the summer of 2002, they met to plan training for the remaining 40 Springfield faculty, which occurred in August of 2002.
Follow-up workshops for Springfield faculty took place after school in the fall of 2002 and the winter of 2003, presented by Linda Hecker and the teacher-leaders.
| The topics included: |
| Multipass Strategies |
| Main Ideas, Paraphrasing, Chunking |
| Multi-sensory approaches to Reading |
| Alternative Assessments |
Throughout the year, the teacher-leaders collected samples of teacher-designed materials and student work. Landmark College staff and the teacher-leaders have a web-based discussion group to answer questions and provide a forum for discussion.
The project was completed and final progress report was written in late spring 2003.
Here's what some of the Springfield teachers and administrators say about their training.
"I just wanted to thank you again for an excellent 4 days — I learned a lot and enjoyed it very much. I very much appreciate the amount of effort, time, and thought that you obviously put into it, from planning to compiling the Training Notebook, a true treasure trove. I'm glad that our association will continue in the fall and into the next few years."
Susan Hunt, Springfield, Vermont, Teacher-leader
"I believe the rich information and experiences you are providing for these Springfield teachers is both very valuable and a unique opportunity. Again, I thank you for the high quality of content. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the materials last night!"
Sarah Carter, Curriculum Director, Springfield School District
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