“As a result of my Reading Recovery training, I have become more aware of the specific strengths and challenges of struggling readers, more aware of the whole theory behind teaching reading and writing, and have felt such pride in my students’ accomplishments which has renewed my passion for teaching.

I’ve become more precise in what I’m looking for but flexible and tentative with how I will work toward moving the student along their literacy journey.”

Training Reading Recovery teacher YRDSB Graduating Class of 2013

Reading Recovery teacher professional discourse; RR lesson

taught ‘Behind the Glass’

Creating a Professional Culture: Adopting a Growth Mindset

Knowledgeable teachers offer the best support to struggling students. No packaged program substitutes for an informed teacher’s design and delivery of individual lessons for each child.

Reading Recovery Professional Development includes: Year-long training consisting of bi-weekly training sessions Ongoing monthly professional development sessions for trained teachers Teaching, observing, and discussing lessons taught behind a one-way mirror

YRDSB

Primary Reading Intervention:

Reading Recovery® Annual Site

Report

2012-2013

If we change the design and delivery of literacy instruction for the children who are struggling,

then we will be able to prevent literacy failure for most children. Clay, 1993

1448 Gr. 1 Students Served by

Reading Recovery

2012

2013

“Reading Recovery is for me an exemplar of what it means to be a professional in the field of education. It is practice grounded in research that continues to be revitalized. Reading Recovery exemplifies professionalism because it focuses on building the profession of teaching and creating a professional culture.”

Richard Elmore, author of Instructional Rounds in

Education, at the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader

Institute, Toronto, February, 2013

“Only in growth mind-set cultures, where teachers and administrators are encouraged to fulfill their potential, will they be able to help their students fulfill their potential in schools that are free of bias.”

Carol S. Dweck, author of Mind-Sets and Equitable Education, January 2010

To date, approximately 664

Reading Recovery teachers have

been trained in York Region

District School Board.

On average, Reading Recovery

teachers work with approximately

49 other students as part of their

full time assignment.

“ I have continued to grow professionally, and have truly enjoyed my learning. Planning individual lessons for struggling readers is always challenging and has taught me to become a more observant teacher. Reading Recovery training has challenged many of my beliefs and understandings as a classroom teacher as well. I have become a more reflective educator, as a result.”

Trained Reading Recovery Teacher

This combination of theory and practice develops teachers who know what to do, why it works, and how to adjust teaching based on a child’s strengths, needs and interests.

Figure 3 illustrates the progress made by the children ‘recommended for further support’ across the 5 tasks from the Observation Survey. Substantial progress was made across all areas of literacy learning.

Reading Recovery: An Inclusive and Effective Intervention

Annual Site Report 2012-2013

In York Region, all of the lowest achieving children in Grade 1 (approximately 20%) are served by Reading Recovery. In order to be cost-effective, Reading Recovery is a short term early intervention. Student outcomes (Successfully discontinued or Recommended for further support) are determined following approximately 12-20 weeks of instruction.

Students Successfully Discontinued: Students Recommended For Further Support:

Have reached high scores on all Observation Survey tasks (Letter Identification, Word Reading, Concepts About Print, Word Writing and Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words and Text Reading)

Read fluently with accuracy and comprehension on more advanced texts (L 16 or higher)

Problem-solve new and difficult words, and correct many errors

Are expected to continue to progress alongside his/her classmates

Have made progress across all Observation Survey tasks (Letter Identification, Word Reading, Concepts About Print, Word Writing, Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words and Text Reading)

Have unique strengths, needs and interests

Are recommended for longer term support in order to ensure continued progress

Grade One Outcomes ~ Full Series of Lessons

Successfully discontinued

Recommended for further support

1136 students completed their full series of lessons in grade one and either successfully discontinued or were recommended for further support (e.g. Third

Wave, Booster Groups, Resource Support)

924 students

81%

212 students

19%

Page 2

1448 out of 6312 grade one students

accessed Reading Recovery in 2012-13

Tasks

Letter

Identification

Word

Reading

Concepts

About

Print

Word

Writing

Hearing &

Recording

Sounds in

Words

Maximum

Score (54) (15) (24)

No

Ceiling (37)

Entry into

Reading

Recovery 37 2 10 4 9

Exit from

Reading

Recovery 50 14 16 24 27

Percentage

Growth 35% 600% 60% 500% 200%

Figure 1.

Average Entry & Exit Observation Survey Scores:

Students Recommended for Further Support

Figure 2 illustrates the wide range of book levels the children ‘recommended for further support’ were reading when they completed their series of Reading Recovery lessons. Students recommended for further support made significant progress.

Figure 3.

Of the 1136 grade one students who completed their full series of lessons in grade one, 924 (81%) successfully discontinued; 212 (19%) were recommended for further support (Figure 1)

677 (60%) were boys, 459 (40%) were girls; 78% of these boys and 86% of these girls successfully discontinued

398 (35%) were English language learners; 85% of these English language learners successfully discontinued

66 identified students were served

5 students who have self-identified as First Nations, Métis, Inuit were served Note: This year system-wide administration of PM bench-mark did not occur in spring 2013; therefore these data are not available in this year’s Reading Recovery site report

Note: Due to the labor situation, Reading Recovery sessions and support for teachers-in-training were on pause for several weeks

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1-5 6-9 10-12 13-15 16-17 18-21 22 +

Number

of Students

Book Levels

Figure 2. Exit Book Levels for Recommended and

Discontinued Students

Discontinued

Recommended

“I understand the role that ongoing, planned observation and assessment plays in getting to know each learner in terms of his/her literacy development. With an emphasis on learning through inquiry and small group instruction in FDK, there are multiple opportunities every day for the teachers to listen, observe and ask

questions and thereby determine each child’s strengths and plan for his/her continued growth and learning.”

“The most important learning I walked away with from Reading Recovery is the importance of teaching things in context. In the past I would be using a deficit model, concentrating on what they don't know whereas, now I ensure that I'm building on what the child knows—an asset model.”

Page 3

Primary Reading Intervention: Reading Recovery®

JK Matters: Children who attended JK and SK in YRDSB tended to be the most likely to meet/exceed expectation on a variety of measures of achievement. In addition, students who attended JK were less likely to be classified as vulnerable and at risk on three of the five EDI domains (social competence, language and cognitive development, communication skills and general knowledge). YRDSB Research Department

Reflections from Reading Recovery Teachers Who Are Teaching Full Day Kindergarten

Reading Recovery … “It is the most effective early intervention program in existence, and there is no other early intervention that comes close to Reading Recovery’s 30 year record of sustainability, replicability and measurable impact on the literacy lives of millions of children.”

Peter Johnston, PhD. Chair, Department of Reading, University of Albany

author of Opening Minds and Choice Words

“The way Reading Recovery as a practice leaks out into the classroom level, has made an indelible impression on me!”

Richard Elmore, at the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Institute,

Toronto, February, 2013

“Some children, even with quality classroom instruction, still need one-to-one instruction in order to learn to read and write successfully.” Allington, 2001

Early Years Strategy: Building Capacity, Learning Together

Monitoring Former Reading Recovery Students: Achievement on EQAO

Figure 4 shows:

89% of successfully

discontinued Reading

Recovery students

achieved Level 2, 3 or

4 on Grade 3 EQAO

reading.

98% of successfully

discontinued Reading

Recovery students

achieved Level 2, 3 or

4 on Grade 3 EQAO

writing.

Figure 5 shows:

A cohort of students

who successfully

discontinued from

Reading Recovery

in Grade 1,

continued to

increase their

achievement in

reading and writing

from Grade 3 to

Grade 6 EQAO

assessment.

By moving the previously lowest achieving students into Level 2, 3 and 4, the probability of achieving Level 3, and 4 in Grade 6

EQAO increases. (YRDSB Research, 2004). These students are benefitting from regular classroom instruction—the intent of Reading

Recovery.

Fig. 5 - EQAO Cohort Results Over Time

204 2 3

39

27 39 27

40

6358

66

2 6 1 4

2010

Grade 3 Reading

2013

Grade 6 Reading

2010

Grade 3 Writing

2013

Grade 6 Writing

Fig. 4 - 2013 Grade 3 EQAO Results

11 2

39

25

4670

4 3

2013 Grade 3 Reading

2013 Grade 3 Writing

Percen

tage o

f Read

ing R

ecovery

Stu

den

ts

Primary Reading Intervention: Reading Recovery®

“Reading Recovery has been a wonderful support for two of my students. The program has built the confidence and skill of the students involved. I have seen a dramatic increase in my students’ ability. Reading Recovery has taken reading and writing from daunting tasks to easy and fun ones. These students have found a love for literacy!”

Grade 1 Classroom Teacher

“My twin boys have been taking Reading Recovery lessons since May 2013. The unique teaching and learning methods of this program have really boosted their reading and writing skills. The Reading Recovery teacher has worked closely with their Special Education teachers . Due to their language improvement, their self-esteem and confidence about school life and themselves has also improved. They have never enjoyed reading so much. I am very impressed and really appreciate the Reading Recovery assistance.”

Mother of twins identified with LD and Behaviour

Impacting the Literacy Lives of Children

“Whole system change…requires individual and collective acts of investment in an inspirational vision and a coherent set of actions that build everyone’s capability and keep everyone learning.”

Professional Capital, Transforming Teaching in Every

School, 2012, Hargreaves & Fullan

“Professional capital is something that must be acquired, spread, and reinvested by teachers themselves-individually and together.”

Professional Capital, Transforming Teaching in Every

School, 2012, Hargreaves & Fullan

Research Review of Early Literacy Interventions The What Works Clearinghouse independent review of Reading Recovery’s experimental research clearly establishes its effectiveness based on scientific evidence criteria. Reading Recovery received the highest ratings from the What Works Clearing House across the domains studied: Alphabetics, Comprehension, Fluency and General Reading Achievement.

Reading Recovery® Liaison Administrator -

Dr. Kathy Witherow

Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Services Penny Zielinski, Teacher Leader /Administrator Donna McFadden, Administrative Assistant And the Teacher Leader Team

Please visit the Reading Recovery BWW Portal Page

linked in Curriculum and Instructional Services

for regional, national and international news.

Reading Recovery®

in York Region

17,107

Reading Recovery Students

Served in YRDSB to date

Primary Reading Intervention: Reading Recovery®

Page 5

Reading Recovery Provides Instruction in All Aspects of a Complex System

Each student in Reading Recovery receives a daily, 30 minute lesson. Lessons are individually designed and delivered and include the following components:

Writing a story

Hearing and recording sounds

Reconstructing the cut-up story

Listening to the new book introduction

Reading the new book

Reading two or more familiar books

Rereading yesterday’s new book and

taking a running record

Working with letter identification

Breaking words into parts

Each daily lesson provides instruction in:

Comprehension

Reading for meaning

Writing meaningful messages

Conversing before and after reading to support and

extend understanding

Composing and writing a variety of texts

Phonological/Phonemic Awareness

Hearing syllables and sounds in words

Developing phonemic awareness during writing

activities

Attending to the sounds of individual letters

Hearing the breaks between groups of letters or

words

Phrasing and Fluency

Reading texts at an instructional level

Reading many familiar texts

Attending to phrasing while reading

Using punctuation appropriately

Letter and Word Work

Learning letters and making links to words

Using a variety of materials to support letter and

word learning

Solving words using a variety of strategies

Building a bank of familiar high-frequency words

Language and Vocabulary Development

Learning new vocabulary and concepts during

reading

Extending oral language throughout the lesson

Increasing awareness of use of language structure

Developing an understanding of book language