ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Terry Black

Montrose Elementary School is in its fourth year of implementing the Literacy Collaborative, a comprehensive school reform project designed to improve reading, writing and language skills of elementary children.

Our staff selected the Literacy Collaborative as our Best Practice because of its nationally based research and success. We were looking for an answer to the question: How do we know children are learning?

There are many sound approaches to teaching reading and writing, which are as diverse as the individuals who teach. Teachers needed a common framework and language so that children moving through the system would not be constantly learning and relearning different approaches each year.

The Literacy Collaborative has given us that common language and framework to reach our goal of adding more children to the proficient, accelerated and advanced categories on statewide testing.

This past year, about 52 percent of the third-grade children tested were in the accelerated and advanced categories, with 86 percent of them scoring proficient and above.

Reading and writing scores are improving, but as in all change situations, the real positive gains are three to four years down the road. This has been accomplished so far without sacrificing the love for reading and writing among our children and families.

What is a Literacy Collaborative school?

The Montrose program is at the primary levels (K-2), but the intermediate grades (3-6) also have been trained in the successful research-based approaches to reading, writing, language, word study and thinking so the children have continuity grade to grade.

Our staff has had intensive training and support through our teacher leader, Nancy Prater, and The Ohio State University. Our delayed-start days and staff meetings are devoted to collaborating about our work with reading and writing. The benefit of this training and collaboration has led us and the children to a different and better level of conversation about our reading and writing.

The schedule for the primary grades provides a daily block of time for literacy instruction in the range of 90 to 120 minutes. As a Literacy Collaborative school, we also have a literacy team that supports the staff training, parent training and communication with the school board. The funding for our Best Practice has come from grants, PTO and the Bexley Board of Education.

While we are experiencing success, the long-term improvement of student reading and writing is our goal. The enthusiasm and support among students, parents and teachers are strong and make success a good bet.

Terry Black is principal of Montrose Elementary School.