Reading gets boost in Bentonville
Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/32950/
BENTONVILLE — Improving students’ reading ability highlighted discussion at Thursday’s meeting of the Bentonville School District’s Curriculum Committee.
The committee approved a new program called Read 180, which helps bring trouble readers up to grade-level reading. The program will be used with special education students in grades seven through 12, said Kay Jacoby, the district’s executive director of secondary education.
District leaders have been increasingly concerned about poor standardized test scores among the special-education population. A task force recently developed a plan to raise those scores, and finding programs such as the Read 180 is part of that plan. The program will cost about $230,000, however. Superintendent Gary Compton said he will tell the School Board in May if enough money is available for the program.
The committee also approved creating several new literacycoach positions to assist a new literacy specialist. The literacy coaches will initially be placed in the three elementary schools that have the most need.
Coaches will eventually be added at each elementary school. The coaches will work with teachers to develop better reading strategies for struggling students.
The school district already uses the popular Reading Recovery program, which helps bring readers through grade two up to grade level. The committee examined data Thursday that shows the program has been successful.
The data could not compare, however, to the personal story from board member Scott Packnett, whose son had struggled with reading until he went through the program. "Now he loves reading," Packnett said. "I believe we’re doing the right thing with this program."
The committee also discussed the following items:
• The district’s proposed driver’s education program, which is expected to be offered this summer; and
• A recent CommunityCare Foundation grant of $112,112 that will fund a new position at Bentonville High School; the person in the new position will work with at-risk students and help develop the freshman orientation curriculum.