Reading program produces

The pilot effort has helped Durham elementary schoolers become proficient

DURHAM -- Several Durham elementary schoolers who once could barely read are now out-performing some of their peers through a pilot program, according to data released Monday.

Over the past four years, teachers at nine Durham elementary schools were trained in the Reading Achievement Program, a model to develop literacy in children with learning disabilities, limited English proficiency and other challenges.

The teachers have used the training to remediate more than 150 students in second through fifth grades.

After just one year of working with the teachers, more than one-third of the elementary schoolers who stuck with the program were reading at or above grade level, according to data from RTI International, an independent research group.

More than half the students had below-average IQs and more than 60 percent had failed at least once, the data showed.

Stronger reading skills helped boost the students' math scores, too, and bolstered their confidence in reading in class and taking exams, teachers said.

The data had several school officials pondering whether to continue the pilot, for which grant funding has ended.

"Just looking at the results, it's evident that many of our students experienced levels of success," said Durham Superintendent Carl Harris. "I was inspired by what I heard."

The Reading Achievement Program is based on a model developed by The Hill Center, a nonprofit school and education resource in Durham designed to help students with attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia and other disabilities.

The program was funded for five years for planning, training and implementation in the public schools, said Felisa Morgan, project coordinator.

The model requires that one teacher instruct no more than four students at a time.

In addition to reading aloud, students use letter tiles and flash cards, starting with the most basic elements, such as consonants and vowels. Students don't move on until they've mastered the task, Morgan said.

Linda Jones, who teaches at Holt Elementary School, said she saw incredible results with several students, including a second-grader with hearing and speech impairments who was reading below kindergarten level.

The boy caught up in one year of meeting with Jones for 45 minutes a day, four times a week, and is scheduled to graduate from the fifth grade this week on time, Jones said.

"The data speaks for itself," said another Holt teacher, Cynthia Webb, who participated in the program.

Harris said his administrators will look closely at the results and decide whether to pay for more teachers to be trained.

"We know that not every child learns the same way," Harris said. "The bottom line is that we continue to look for ways to help our students achieve."

One year of courses, materials and analysis costs about $4,000 per teacher, said Jean Neville, director of professional development for The Hill Center.

But the investment, Neville said, can prevent students from being placed in special needs classes down the road, which ultimately could save the schools money and save a child hardships.

Based on the results, it appears the intensive instruction could determine whether many students with disabilities can get through school. For that, "any improvement is a significant one," said Terri Mozingo, Durham's associate superintendent for instruction.