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READING RECOVERY COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA
America Reads Contact: Jean F. Bussell
1929 Kenny Road - Suite 100
Columbus, Ohio
E-mail: bussell.4@osu.edu
Telephone: 614/292-7111 Fax: 614/292-4404
Participation: RRCNA is an international membership association of teachers, teacher leaders, site coordinators, university professors, other school personnel, and community members who are interested in serving children through Reading Recovery and other early literacy interventions. Children served by Reading Recovery are first graders who are experiencing difficulty in learning to read and write. Reading Recovery operates in nearly 10,000 schools nationwide, in 3,241 school districts, and in 48 states and the Department of Defense Dependents'Schools. Reading Recovery is provided in English and in Spanish.
Tutoring: Reading Recovery is a one-to-one tutoring intervention for first grade students who are having trouble learning to read and write. Reading Recovery teachers are trained professionals who provide thirty minute tutoring lessons daily to children. The goal of the tutoring is to accelerate reading performance for children who are at the bottom of their class in reading and move them into the average band for reading in their class within twenty weeks. Parents are asked to listen to their children each night and to assist their child in reviewing a cut up sentence or story which the child writes during the day's lesson.
Resources: There are 489 teacher training sites in the United States where specially trained teacher leaders provide training for Reading Recovery teachers. At each site schools may choose to involve volunteers, including parents, in supporting the Reading Recovery program. In such instances, the trained Reading Recovery teachers may serve as resources for the volunteer effort. The Reading Recovery teachers are in frequent contact with parents to assist parents in supporting their child's acquisition of early literacy skills. Program funding comes from a variety of local, state, and federal funds as well as private support. The exact combination depends on how each school district decides to fund the program.
Research: Reading Recovery students are evaluated at the beginning of the school year, at the point when they leave the program, and at the end of the school year. This evaluation data is compared to the average performance of the student's class. In addition, the Reading Recovery teacher evaluates each child's progress daily so that the next day's lesson will build on the previous day's experience and learning. Follow up research indicates that the gains achieved in the first grade are sustained through the fourth grade. Data beyond the fourth grade are not currently available. Reports of the success of the program are available from the RRCNA.
Relations: Most of the promotion of Reading Recovery occurs at the local school board level where the school board adopts the program and supports its implementation in the district. Additional promotional activity relates to the acquisition of state funding for Reading Recovery and other early intervention programs. Coalition building occurs primarily at these levels as well.
Comments: RRCNA has published a Volunteer Literacy Manual which is available to members for $15.00 and to non-members for $20.00. The Manual is not designed to train volunteers to be tutors. It is designed to assist schools and community organizations in organizing the volunteer effort. Sections include the rationale for using volunteers, volunteer roles, volunteer recruitment strategies, training and retaining volunteers, volunteer recognition, and risk management. A list of readings is provided. The resources section includes black and white masters of forms used in volunteer programs (volunteer application, record cards, request forms, schedules, staff needs surveys, sample job descriptions, sample training agendas.) These forms also are provided on Macintosh or PC diskettes for easy adaptation to a school or organization's particular needs. Contact the RRCNA for order information.
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