THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509010173
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Chesapeake's first-graders will have extra help overcoming literacy problems this year, should they need it.
Reading Recovery, a literacy intervention program for first-graders, will be available at eight elementary or primary schools throughout the city. The focus of the program is to catch potential literacy problems early in a child's education so that instructors may address those problems then accelerate the student back into a regular reading curriculum.
``The earlier you catch problems, the better chance you have keeping bad habits from becoming habitual,'' said Nancy Creekmore, Reading Recovery supervisor for Chesapeake Public Schools.
The program works like this: Teachers identify first-graders with potential reading problems. The students are tested to determine if they need additional help. Those with the greatest need are assigned to the Reading Recovery program and matched with an instructor.
The student and instructor work on reading and writing skills daily for 30 minutes until the student is prepared to return to the classroom. Most students graduate from Reading Recovery within 12 to 20 weeks.
``The program is designed to be short-term,'' said Creekmore, who added that the progress of graduates of the program will be monitored periodically.
``They'll be tested every year for a few years to make sure the intervention holds,'' Creekmore said.
Several first-graders completed Reading Recovery last year when the city conducted a pilot program to test the concept. Creekmore said the results were positive.
``The children were able to return to their classrooms and perform at the level of their classmates.''
Since then, nine Chesapeake elementary teachers have been trained in Reading Recovery. The teachers are assigned no more than four students each and split their workday between Reading Recovery and their other staff duties.
The program will be available at Rena B. Wright Primary, Southwestern Elementary, Camelot Elementary, Portlock Primary, G.A. Treakle Elementary, B.M. Williams, Georgetown Primary and Thurgood Marshall Primary schools.
``Our overall plan is to establish the program throughout the school system,'' said Creekmore.
Reading Recovery originated in New Zealand in the 1960s and was introduced to the United States in the mid-1980s. Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News have already established Reading Recovery programs. Suffolk schools will implement the program this year. by CNB