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South Central Reading Council |
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Newsletter |
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Volume 5 Issue 3 Winter 2008 From the President’s Desk
Hello SCRC Friends,
The upcoming months will be quite busy for SCRC as we prepare for not one, but two events. The next event will be to host Dr. Linda Gambrell, President of the International Reading Association (IRA), will be speaking to our members on the teaching of higher level comprehension through discussion. It is quite an honor to have Dr. Gambrell present to our membership and our colleagues throughout the county. It has been several years, since SCRC has hosted the president of IRA for its members and it was quite popular with over 220 people present. Therefore, we had to seek another venue to host Dr. Gambrell. So join us on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at the Outdoor Country Club!
In the last President’s Desk article, I had stated that since Dr. Gambrell’s visit was so close to the next event in April, that we would offer to members only, who sign up for both, a two-for-one deal. Unfortunately, since we had to seek a change of venue and wanted to give our members the opportunity for a sit-down dinner, we will need to decline that offer. Please don’t let this discourage you from attending either event.
Dr. Gambrell has partnered with Scholastic to offer two Ready-to-Go Classroom Library sets to anyone who attends this event. We are so pleased that we can offer this to the attendees of this event. Many thanks to Dr. Gambrell and Scholastic for this great opportunity!
The SCRC board continues to be an incredibly dedicated group of individuals who are working hard to provide professional development opportunities for educators, but we also want to be a service organization for our community. Each year our members donate $1000 to a community organization to be the recipient of our Community Service Grant. We have selected two worthwhile organizations, Olivia’s House or The Lehman Center, though SCRC members will determine which one will be the recipient during our March event.
The board will be meeting soon and we will need to have some people willing to take on some leadership roles as some of the board members are giving up their positions after having served for several years. Please consider taking on a role in this organization as we need many people working together to take this organization from “good to great”. If you are interested in helping, please see either myself or Jackie Atkins, Nominations Chair at our next event.
Take care and I look forward to seeing everyone at the next event!
March 25, 2008 Dr. Linda Gambrell, IRA President
esteemed speaker share her knowledge with us.
Two Ready-to-Go Classroom libraries from Scholastic will be raffled at this event.
April 10, 2008 Debbie Diller
Come listen to Debbie Diller present on how to get more from power your small group instruction. Her new book, Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All will be used as the basis for her presentation for this evening. Debbie’s experience ranges from being a classroom teacher to a Title I reading specialist to a literacy coach, as well as a national consultant and author. She is the author of Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work, Practice with Purpose, Literacy Work Stations for Grades 3 – 6, and Beyond the Names Chart. She uses her strong understandings of child development and literacy development to address the differentiated needs of all students in her work with teachers and administrators.
This is Debbie’s first visit to our
local council from her home of Houston, Texas. Let’s
welcome her as she comes back to her roots in neighboring
Community Service News
During our March 25th event all members will have an opportunity to vote for our annual Community Service Grant recipient. For the past several years we have had the pleasure of donating a thousand dollars to a local agency to promote literacy for children. This year the nominees are:
Olivia’s House – Olivia’s House is a grief and loss center for children located in York. It provides no cost services for children and young adults whose family member, close friend, or even pet has died. Educational and peer support groups are available as well as a lending library.
The Lehman Center – The Lehman Center in York provides a child abuse prevention service with an emphasis on intervening in crises and providing respite support to families experiencing numerous stressors. Through a 24-hour hotline and short-term residential crisis nursery for children from birth to six years of age, these children have a safe haven in which to stay. The Center also provides outpatient art therapy, case management, and parent support groups in the community and in the York County Prison system.
Please don’t forget we are always collecting new and/or gently used books to donate to the York Literary Council.
Membership Alert
Please remember to renew your membership application when it comes to you from Keystone State Reading Association. We presently have 177 active members, but we also have 90 members who need to renew. It is so easy to overlook getting that application in the mail, but you don’t want to miss any of our exciting events.
SCRC has definitely become a major force for professional development in York and Adams County. We are all proud of the educational opportunities that we are offering each year. Luckily, it has become even easier to renew your membership because the new applications include an option to renew by credit card. If you are unsure of your KSRA/SCRC membership expiration date, just check the mailing label on this newsletter. You will find your expiration date listed. We are including an application form with this mailing for your convenience, but you can always find one on our website. You can renew at anytime, you do not have to wait until your membership expires. KSRA will just extend your membership for another year. Remember to mark South Central as your local council.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the Out Door Country Club when Linda Gambrell speaks to our council. What an honor and professionally rewarding opportunity for South Central Reading Council.
Barbara Johnston SCRC Membership Chair
Governmental Relations
Governmental Relations met at the January KSRA board meeting in State College to discuss several issues of interest in the federal and state government. Here are some highlights.
NCLB: The goal of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is that ALL third grade students read on grade level by 2014. Secretary Spellings has allowed for growth models for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) where students’ progress will be judged rather than this year’s third graders compared to last year’s third graders. In the growth model EVERY student must show a year’s growth EACH year and the 2014 deadline still holds, making the model not as great as it seemed at the outset. It is thought that NCLB will not be reauthorized this year before the election.
There is an IRA committee meeting weekly to create a bill modeled after the National Science Foundation. Grants or loans would be given to state education agencies to disseminate to institutions of higher education and school districts to work together on Professional Development School Partnerships.
GCA’s: The PA Board of Education passed the use of 10 Graduation Competency Assessments (GCA’s) to receive a high school diploma. There will be public hearings on this coming up.
PDE: Several KSRA members spent time with Dr. Jerry Zahorchak discussing issues of concern. Dr. Zahorchak mentioned that the What Works Clearinghouse (www.whatworks.ed.gov/) had demonstrated the efficacy of Reading RecoveryÒ as an intervention and stated he plans to reinvigorate and increase Reading Recovery® programs. He seemed concerned to hear that the new teacher certification to take effect in 2013 didn’t require language and literacy education courses.
RtI: Response to Intervention is in its third year of piloting in PA. PaTTAN has modules for training across the state. With the three-tier model all students, even special education students, receive a core program. The tiers are data driven at the teacher level. This means that each tier is not program driven, but rather driven by the teachers matching the program to the students based on evidence. (http://www.pattan.k12.pa.us/teachlead/ResponsetoIntervention(RtI).aspx)
Literacy Coaching: Our last task was to generate information, questions and comments to help develop a KSRA position paper on Literacy Coaching. We wanted to address qualifications and preparation especially aiming toward a specialist certification in Literacy Coaching. Any comments on the position paper may be sent to Sue Grimm McCoy at sgrimm28@aol.com by February 20, 2008.
Let me know if you have questions on any of the above. Jackie Atkins, jackieatkins@comcast.net.
SOUTH CENTRAL READING COUNCIL PRESENTS Dr. Linda Gambrell, IRA President Teaching higher level comprehension through discussion March 25, 2008 at the Out Door Country Club Cash Bar opens at 4:30 Dinner at 5:30 followed by Presentation: 6:15 – 7:30 p.m. Members and Full-time Students $26.00 Non-members $31.00
MENU Salad, Choice of Dinner, Dessert and Coffee
Dinner Choices:
Name_______________________Phone______________School District ___________________________
E-mail_________________ Member___ Full-time Student____ Non member____
Reading Council (Circle one—Capital, Lancaster/Lebanon, South Central) KSRA membership #____________________
Please Check Your Dinner Selection:
pParmesan Crusted Haddock pChicken Saltimbocca pSmoked Mozzarella & Asparagus Ravioli
Send this form and check made out to SCRC to: Susan Meisenhelter 3041 Faith Lane Red Lion, PA 17356 RESERVATIONS DUE BY: March 15, 2008No late registrations will be accepted.
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Dr. Linda B. Gambrell, professor of education in the Eugene T. Moore School of
Education at Clemson University and current president of the International
Reading Association, will be the featured speaker at the March 25, 2008
meeting. Her topic for the evening’s presentation will be teaching
higher level comprehension through discussion. Gambrell
received the IRA Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award. In 2004, she
was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame. We are fortunate
to have such an
