Professional Development with Proven Results in Reading
Our partnership with the Central Falls school district has gained national attention. Between October 2009 and June 2011, the percentage of students reading at benchmark district-wide in grades K-2 increased from 37% to 73%. We’ve built trust and ownership with classroom teachers and administrators, and we’ve grown the work during extremely challenging times for the district.
Now, with support from The Rhode Island Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Teaching Studio is offering three years of free professional development support, targeted to improve reading achievement, to five Rhode Island elementary schools. In its first year the initiative will engage up to 170 educators who reach more than 3,800 Rhode Island public school students.
The Teaching Studio’s innovative approach is led by consulting teachers at The Learning Community, a high poverty, high achieving public charter school. The partner schools, announced in January 2013, are:
- Globe Park Elementary School, Woonsocket
- Harris Elementary School, Woonsocket
- Leo Savoie Elementary School, Woonsocket
- Governor Aram J. Pothier Elementary School, Woonsocket
- and Old County Road School, Smithfield
These schools will receive training and materials over three years to advance achievement in reading, including:
- Grade-level professional development sessions to support implementation of units of study
- Units of study in reading that are aligned to new national Common Core standards
- Quarterly consultant support in analyzing reading assessment data
- Training for reading specialists on reading safety net support services
- An on-line resource center of units, lesson plans, teacher tools, video clips and discussion forums
- Support from a master scheduler to help align the school day to maximize instructional time
- $20,000 to each school in materials to support the work
In addition to the five schools above, representatives from six other schools will have access to professional development and training materials to support an aligned, district-wide strategy in both communities: Bernon Heights, Citizens Memorial and Kevin K. Coleman Elementary Schools in Woonsocket and Anna McCabe, Raymond LaPerche, and William Windsor Elementary Schools in Smithfield.
In its first year this work will engage up to 150 teachers and 23 reading specialists across 11 schools in grades K-5. These teachers reach more than 3800 students.
>> Download the invitation to schools
Schools or districts interested in learning more about participating are encouraged to contact us at teachingstudio@thelearningcommunity.com or 401-454-9985.
