Doing Your Homework:
Reading Teacher Can't Provide Remedial Reading Instruction
by Suzanne Heath, Research Editor, Wrightslaw

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I have been a remedial reading teacher in a public school in New York for 30 years. I've been searching Wrightslaw, trying to find information on guidelines for reading teachers.

At my school, each reading teacher handles approximately 50-60 children. Now, with inclusion classes, I am also being given 10 special education students - in addition to the 50 regular education students that I already have. Due to budget cuts this year, our paras will most likely be taken away from us.

It is virtually impossible for me to meet the needs of all these children.

Are there any guidelines for reading teachers? I want very much to help the children but there is just so much that one person can do.

From Sue:

The key to solving this problem is in your last sentence -- "there is just so much that one person can do." To change the status quo, you need to educate and empower others. People who facilitate change are those who

1) try something other than what failed in the past, and
2) support others in making change.

These 70 children need to read at grade level. Since these children have not learned to read in the past when taught by a teacher, assigning them to paraprofessionals is not a good idea. I support the idea of assigning them to a certified teacher. I expect that three certified teachers makes more sense, but you ended up with all of them.

So, back to your problem. You have 70 children. Some of these children have IEPs. What do you do?

Research Based Reading Instruction

Because less than 35 percent of fourth graders are proficient readers, No Child Left Behind requires schools to use research-based reading programs:

"A primary focus of this law is the requirement that school districts and individual schools use effective research-based reading remediation programs so all children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade. The law authorizes funds 'to provide assistance to State educational agencies and local educational agencies in establishing reading programs for students in kindergarten through grade 3 that are based on scientifically based reading research, to ensure that every student can read at grade level or above no later than the end of grade 3.' (20 U.S.C.§ 6361)" (page 73, Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind)

What research based methods of reading instruction are you trained to teach? LiPS? Wilson? Project Read? Orton Gillingham?

If you do not have the training necessary to meet your students' IEP goals, say so. Tell the IEP team members - parents included. Give others the information they need so these children will be taught to read.

If you do not have the necessary training to teach these programs, buying the materials or learning from someone else will not work. A partially trained person, or a trained person who does not follow the program exactly, will not be effective.

If your school does not have teachers who are trained in research based reading methods, or the school will not provide trained staff and a schedule so these children have daily remediation, they cannot expect to get results.

Use Current Assessment Data

Make sure you have current assessment data on your students so you know their presents levels of performance and can group them appropriately. If you do not have current assessment data, you will need to assess the children yourself. You will also need to assess them at intervals during the year and adjust their educational programs so they make educational gains of several years in the coming year.

If you are not sure what assessments you should give to get this data, contact the one of New York Branches of the International Dyslexia Association and ask.

Homogeneous Groups

You may assign your children to groups of 3 to 5 and move them along as a group instead of individually. LiPS, Wilson, and Project Read can all be done groups of 3 to 5 as long as the children's needs and levels are the same (homogeneous groups).

Certification of Inadequately Trained Teachers

If you are suddenly finding yourself face to face with accountability, and you are the dumping ground for your district's past failed reading programs, you are not alone.

States continue to certify elementary teachers and reading teachers who are not trained in any research based methods of reading instruction. A teacher may complete college and become certified only to learn - when facing room full of students - that she does not have the training her students need.

This problem needs to be addressed with college administrations, state departments of education, state boards of education, state legislatures, and local school boards - preferably at once and preferable by as many people as you can inform and recruit.

Organizations like the American Federation of Teachers should be advocating for you so you get the training you need. If your organization is not representing your interests, you may decide to terminate your membership. Be sure to tell the organization why.

Title I School?

Is your school a Title I school? If so, your school is required to have a Title I plan that ties into the district's special education plan. Get copies of both plans from the district office. They are public records. Read them to see what the district promised to accomplish, and how, when it accepted Title I funds.

You may discover that your school is not following the plan it promised to follow. If this is the case, bring it to the attention of parents/taxpayers/voters, your teacher organization or union, and the NCLB representative for New York. (Contact info below)

Funds for Training

Find out about the Title I money that is available for training teachers and apply for it. Make sure the training you take is in a research based method.

As you gather information, share it with other teachers and parents. The children in your school will not learn to read until the system changes. If you are serious about making sure that children learn to read, you need to change the system. Become the local source of information on how to fix the broken system.

Do this one step at a time, like piling straws onto a camel's back. Every small step counts.

These resources will help.

Information & Resources

Research Based Methods of Reading Instruction and Contact Information for Training

Key Legal Definitions: Reading & Reading Programs

Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science, What Expert Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do from the American Federation of Teachers.

Put Reading First - The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read - Makes evidence-based reading research available to educators, parents, policymakers, and others who want to help all people learn to read well.

Lindamood Bell Program for District wide Reading Programs

Model of an Effective Reading Plan from the US Department of Education

No Child Left Behind: A Toolkit for Teachers, U. S. Department of Education (2004)

Support for School Personnel and Parent Training: Often Overlooked Keys to Success by Susan Bardet, Esq.

U. S. Secretary of Education's Regional NCLB Representative for New York:
Valerie Smith
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Secretary's Regional Representative
75 Park Place, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10007
valarie.smith@ed.gov
Telephone: 212-63-6284

New York Branches of the International Dyslexia Association

Western NY Branch
New York
Suffolk Branch