Weekly Communication

Dear Colleagues,

This weekend I received the latest issue of the International Reading Association’s Reading Today magazine.  I was hoping to find an article that would inspire my weekly communication with you.  I was reading an article by a professor at the University of Albany, State University of New York, when I became inspired.  Our curriculum team is in the process of evaluating all of the district’s textbooks and resources in order to determine those content areas that are in the greatest need for updated materials.  We are cognizant of the fact that your materials must be aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards.  Granted, it is challenging to teach these new standards with outdated resources.  Donna Scanlon (2013) brings up an interesting point in her article that I read.  In 2008, she and her colleagues conducted a study in which they provided professional development that emphasized comprehensive and responsive literacy instruction to kindergarten and first grade teachers.  These teachers were not from the same school district, but rather from multiple districts in which a variety of literacy programs and practices were in place.  Scanlon and her colleagues noted that these teachers, after having received focused professional development, were able to reduce the number of children in their districts who demonstrated literacy learning difficulties by approximately 50%.  This study suggests that teaching has a greater impact on student success than programs do.  What you do in your classrooms makes all the difference!  In an effort to continue to provide you with professional development that is aligned to Ohio’s New Learning Standards, we will soon launch our district professional development program that will provide you the opportunity to showcase your expertise, grow as leaders and collaborators and enable our students to compete in a global society.  So, please stay tuned!  Enjoy your week and continue to offer up your very best instruction.

Thank you,

Dr. Lynne S. Kulich
Coordinator of Instruction