Officials visit Southside Primary
Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 17, 2004
Representatives from the state and U.S. Department of Education made a visit to Southside Primary Wednesday to see for themselves how the Alabama Reading First Initiative and Alabama Reading Initiative were being put into action in this area.
Dr. Katherine Mitchell, director of the Alabama Reading Initiative, and Sandi Jacobs, education program specialist with the U.S. Department of Education’s Reading First, spent the afternoon talking with teachers and sitting in on training sessions where teachers were being introduced to the programs.
Through a collaborative effort between the Alabama Reading First Initiative and area schools, Southside Primary is hosting a summer reading academy for teachers, reading coaches, and students in summer school.
“Southside Primary ranks as a number one Reading First school,” said Mitchell. “I wanted to bring Sandi (Jacobs) here so she could see how this program has made an impact.”
Tonya Chestnut, Title 1 coordinator for Dallas County Schools, said faculty from schools around the state are spending at least five weeks at Southside Primary learning how to teach the Alabama Reading First Initiative.
“These teachers are not just sitting in workshops all day,” Chestnut said. “They are getting trained and using what they learned to teach our students in summer school who are behind in reading. Teachers get more from the training if they work with children. They are seeing the model work first hand with students who are struggling.”
Christine Spear, coordinator of the summer reading academy, said the main goals are help improve students’ reading scores and give teachers professional development in the Reading Initiative programs.
Reading coaches from Selma City and Dallas County Schools are also spending one-week internships at the summer academy learning about federally funded programs.
“These reading coaches are former teachers who teach other teachers about reading strategies, give demonstrations, and do research,” Spear said.
Selma was just one of many stops for Jacobs, who is traveling the country visiting other Reading First programs.
“Alabama is the focus for other programs nationwide,” Jacobs said. “Alabama is really several steps ahead of other states. I came looking for advice and support for this reading program.”
In talking with the teachers at Southside Primary, Jacobs said, she discovered they are dealing with challenges, “but their answer is always ‘there is what we are doing about it’.”
Along with training teachers and holding summer school, Chestnut said Southside Primary is also doing workshops for parents to give them ideas about encouraging reading at home.
After visiting Southside Primary, Jacobs said her next stop on her tour of schools is in Miami.