Evaluation Of Freedom School Partners Children 's Defense Fund Freedom Schools

This has deepened my understanding of the big 5 concepts of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) through understanding what criteria can be used to determinate what is effective developmental for a reader and what needs improvement. The Informal Reading Inventory is one example of this because it allows me to assess word recognition, oral and silent reading, comprehension, and literacy capacity. All of which is valuable information which I can then use as a reading teacher to determine further instructional moves. While I have yet to have a place to fully put these assessment techniques into my full practice as a first year teacher. Learning about how to properly assess these components has better equipped me to think about my students' literacy abilities and further strategize my instructional planning to meet the diversity of their literacy

The 2001 Summer Reading Program sought to meet the following goals: (1) provide children in grades pre-K–3 with the opportunity to improve and retain reading skills in order to achieve greater success in school; and (2) encourage parents to participate and play an active role in reading with their children. The data from all stakeholders in the program - libraries, students, parents, and teachers - demonstrate that the Program made great strides towards meeting its

Early reading success is the foundation of a student’s knowledge and self-esteem. The foundation also provides future opportunities for growth. Students must learn to read proficiently so that they are able to learn more in future grades, post-secondary schools, and the workforce. Beverly Tyner’s Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers states “In the United States, which offers few career opportunities for the illiterate, teaching children to read proficiently is the most important single task in education.” (Tyner, 2009). Beverly Tyner created the Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model which incorporates research-based strategies for teaching beginning reading skills and skills

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

The Harlem Children’s Zone is a community based education system started by Geoffrey Canada. His main goal with this program was to close the achievement gap between affluent and low-income children in Harlem and ensure that every student that attends the HCZ also attends college. His charter school, referred to as “ The Promise Academy,” is unique as it provides a high-performing academic program supplemented with a variety of social services including parenting classes, support system for former HCZ students who have enrolled in college, fitness programs, community centers, and an onsite-medical clinic. Children living in the inner city are historically low-performing students, because they are not worried about their grade on a test like

Assuaging poverty is one of the gist missions of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the United States today, exceeding “13 million” children live in poverty. We understand that children, who experience the backlash of poverty, often live in an unpleasantly conditions, unstable homes, and are at a great distance less likely than other children to get a favorable education and/or sufficient health care. The exposure to life of poverty more often limits learning abilities; bringing about the inability of getting the best jobs and earning maximum income, making it impossible for them to live up to their full potential, which will more like result in imprisonment.

In every school across America, effective practices of reading instruction are being discussed. Calkins (2012) suggests that over 85% of students being tested on grade level literacy standards are non-proficient. Research suggests that students, who are unable to read proficiently by third grade, are not predicted to ever learn to read or have successful lives when they reach adulthood (Martinez, 2008). For these reasons, it is important that districts implement literacy models and instructional reforms that have been well researched and shown to be successful. The instructional reform method of Balanced Literacy is being used throughout the country to meet the challenging standards of the Common Core. Teachers will need

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

This summer I worked in New York City at Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), which is a non-profit organization for poverty-stricken children and families in Harlem, providing free support in the forms of parenting workshops, a pre-school program, three public charter schools, child-oriented health programs that serve approximately 13,705 children and 13,784 adults. The Harlem Children’s Zone Project has expanded the HCZ’s comprehensive system of programs to nearly 100 blocks of Central Harlem and aims to keep children on track throughout college and into the job market. The organization is made-up of about twenty two programs in total that ensure there are no gaps in-between one phase to the next. For instance if a student needs to take a year off before attending college, HCZ has created programs that will stick with the student during this time frame, in other words providing these students with a strong support group so they are held accountable to attend college in the future. The HCZ is “aimed at doing nothing less than breaking the cycle of generational poverty for the thousands of children and

The need for basic literacy skills is vital in order for our nation to continue to operate successfully. With approximately 5 million students, graduating below the National Standard for Literacy and unable to read, we must take a look at the curriculum and teaching techniques to assess whether the current systems need to be revised to better assure ALL students are successful. (Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Research Belief p. 1) The issue begins first with the definition of “Literacy”, and the fact that there are several aspects of literacy which are not currently included in the curriculum. Another issue is the “old” standards which are in place do not support the level of diversity which is now seen in many school systems. Then

Nyasha was very withdrawn as she began her Y Readers journey at Reid Park Academy this summer. Since kindergarten Nyasha experience difficulty complying with school wide and classroom expectations. She had few positive interactions with her peers during the school year. Consequently, these challenges impacted her academics and school experience in a negative manner. However, Nyasha is not as inhibited since she has found her voice through writing this summer. Nyasha’s literacy skills have developed into grade level expectations and she has cultivated positive relationships with her peers and staff. She has attended camp every day and the family has completed more than the weekly required literacy activities. Y Readers

Reading and writing is crucial for increasing achievement among people of all ethnicities. For many young kids, books are their primary source of learning how to read and write besides the parameter of the classroom. However, there is a significant decrease in the literacy rate found in African-American communities. There is a need for stronger literacy education for this particular group of the population. A huge problem associated with that can be attributed the failure of the public school system to effectively educate the youth. According to the 2009 NAEP data, only 33 percent of 4th graders and 32 percent of 8th graders in the U.S performed at or above proficiency in reading on national tests. These results are very discouraging, in the African-American community, but the results are even worse because only 16 percent of African American 4th graders and 14 percent of African American 8th graders performed at or above the grade proficiency level in 2009.

For our education system to be strong it is imperative to offer a real opportunity to every child, it’s a moral crucial and an economic necessity. “The Covenant, pgs.36& 37” discuss schools called, “Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools, these schools are a product of the relationship between CDF and community organizations, churches, universities, and schools. The program’s key elements are educational enrichment and cultural awareness, parental involvement, and social action. Building self-identity and skills for social interaction are two major tasks in growing and becoming a well-rounded individual for society. Anything children learn in the toddler years greatly influence whether they will grow up to value, accept, and comfortably

The use of formal and informal reading assessments provide important data that allow educators to identify at risk students (Tompkins, 2010). The data collected from the assessments address any factors that may prohibit the development of students’ reading and writing skills. In addition to the assessments, the more an educator can learn about students’ backgrounds and their past reading, language development, and writing experiences the more instructional strategies can be designed to specifically meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

Erin uses two assessments to measure student’s academic outcomes. Her district requires her to use Fountas & Pinnell to assess her students’ reading level and progress over time. Moreover, this data is used to drive intervention-based instruction. This year, Erin decided to use Gates-MacGinitie as an additional measure to assess the reading levels of her students. Erin’s rationale behind this assessment was to push student’s further along the continuum of reading. Also, it enabled her students to think beyond middle school by introducing the concept of reading at a post-secondary level. Overall, her students have grown 1/3 of a year in their reading levels. I think that it is worth mentioning that her third period class has grown an average of one year in their reading levels. She has done some great work regarding cultivating the habits of mind. In particular, this class has developed a joy and a love of reading. Evidence of this is their book record challenge and their personal written reflections on their reading growth. During the first couple weeks of schools, her students set reading goals for themselves. They were pushed to make it meaningful by explaining how it connects to their life goals. Some students made strong connections to how their reading growth could positively contribute to the wellbeing of their families. In particular, I remember one female student sharing with her group that she wants to be able to help her mother understand bills and important