IN-SCHOOL TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM
Description for the Principal-for the Teacher
No other organization in the country gives teachers 120 hours of training right in their classrooms in the teaching of reading, writing, spelling and comprehension. after they take a 40-45 hour basic course.
When invited by elementary school principals, expert Reading Reform Foundation teaching consultants travel to public schools to train regular-education, primary-grade teachers in the teaching of reading, writing, spelling and comprehension. This year the program is working with 85 teachers and the students in their classrooms.
Reading Reform Foundation consultants demonstrate in the classroom structured, phonetic, multisensory methods of teaching reading, help the classroom teachers practice these methods with their classes, and plan lessons with the teachers for the days the consultant is not present. Training takes place on a weekly basis.
Reading Reform Foundation requires collaborating classroom teachers to enroll in Reading Reform Foundation courses prior to the in-classroom training.
The best results occur when a teacher takes a course and uses the methods in the classroom for a year under the guidance of an experienced Reading Reform Foundation teaching consultant. As the children succeed, the teacher feels successful, and their mutual accomplishment produces a vibrant and happy classroom.
The School and Reading Reform Foundation: An Effective Partnership
More and more schools are consulting with Reading Reform Foundation. This integration of structured course work with practice in the classroom is at the heart of Reading Reform Foundation's mission of teaching ways to teach reading, writing and spelling.
Reading Reform Foundation asks the principal to select those teachers for the program who are motivated, willing and able to participate fully in all the training has to offer.
Scheduling Training in the Classroom
Reading Reform Foundation teaching consultants usually work in the classroom during the morning. To help ensure good work, Reading Reform Foundation relies on the principal to provide uninterrupted time for classroom training as well as a private setting for the consultant and the classroom teacher to discuss, practice and plan for future lessons. The training program generally begins in the fall term and continues into the spring term. Two to four classroom teachers participate in each school. As the other teachers in the school see the success of their colleagues, they generally ask for the training also.
Fees for Program Services
Reading Reform Foundation tries to keep the charges for teacher training reasonable. Payment for training in the classroom can come from the school, the district, or from outside funding. Reading Reform Foundation charges approximately twenty per cent of the total costs of the training and endeavors to raise the other 80% of the total cost by soliciting funds from foundations, corporations and individuals. A yearly benefit event provides a portion of the money needed. We are always grateful for donations, large and small, to help us earn 80% of the cost we have to raise.
For further information about the in-school teacher-training program, please contact:
Lauren Wedeles, Executive Director
Telephone: (212) 307-7320
Fax: (212) 307-0449
Good Teaching = Good Learning