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It is in the area of professional
development that Success for All differs most from traditional
basal programs and from the usual workshop based training.
The program provides extensive on-site professional
development, followup, in-class coaching, and opportunities
for teacher team meetings. It provides detailed teacher’s
manuals, training videos, and videos for children to
communicate exactly what a Success for All classroom
is supposed to look like. All of these components are
closely coordinated with the specific elements of the
reading model, and with state academic and performance
standards.
Training and followup in Success for All are extensive
and ongoing. In the spring or summer before the school
year begins, the principal and facilitator attend a
week-long training session to learn all aspects of the
program, with a focus on leadership, the change process,
and coaching. Teachers attenda 3-day training, usually
in August, at the school site.
Generally, two Success for All Foundation
trainers are assigned to a school. Training focuses
on the essential components of reading instruction,
stages of reading development, causes and solutions
for reading difficulties, and administration and interpretation
of reading assessments.
Between the initial training and a
series of followup visits to the school to provide additional
training, feedback, and consultation, each Success for
All school will receive at least 18 person-days of on-site
training in the first year, about 12 in the second year,
and 10 days per year after that. In addition, the principal
and facilitator attend monthly Leadership Academy sessions
with other school leaders in their area. Telephone consultations,
including formal teleconferences, take place between
on-site visits.
Each Success for All school designates a facilitator
from its staff. This is a full-time coach who is an
experienced teacher. The facilitator works with all
teachers to ensure high-quality, thoughtful implementation
of the reading program. He or she visits teachers’
reading classes frequently to give teachers feedback;
reviews data on student progress; helps teachers with
grouping decisions and accommodations for individual
needs; and organizes “component team” meetings
in which teachers of a given program component meet
weekly to exchange ideas, solve problems, and share
perceptions. The facilitator is a key link with the
Success for All Foundation trainers, and manages and
shares with the trainers data on student performance.
Facilitators play an especially important role in mentoring
new teachers and helping all teachers reach their full
potential.
Success for All provides a wide array of material supports
to help all teachers implement the model effectively.
These include a detailed, well-specified teacher’s
manual for each program component and training videos
on each component and on essential subcomponents. In
development are a series of additional training videos
for teachers focusing on such topics as essential components
of reading, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development,
assessment, interventions for reading difficulties,
cooperative learning, classroom management, and metacognitive
strategies for reading comprehension. We are producing
a series of videos for children to demonstrate key reading
processes to them, such as how to use sound blending,
build fluency, use metacognitive strategies, make predictions,
use cooperative learning, and so on. Material in videos
for teachers and for children is available in DVD and
CD formats.
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