Read Right Project Proposal

Preparation for Project Start-up

Preparation for Project Start-Up

Putnam County School District

READ RIGHT Systems, Inc. 310 W. Birch, Shelton, WA 98584 360-427-9440 [email protected] www.readright.com

Table of Contents

Page

I. Checklist of Items to be Completed Prior to Project Start-up ......................................... 1

II. Building Support for Your Read Right Project .............................................................. 2

Sample Agenda for Read Right Information Meeting .............................................. 3 Sample Letter to Teachers and Staff ...................................................................... 4 Sample Letter to parents of Identified Read Right Students ................................... 5

III. Selecting or Hiring Tutor Coordinators ........................................................................... 6

Job Description Read Right Tutor .......................................................................... 7

Job Description Read Right Trainer........................................................................ 9

IV. Student Selection ........................................................................................................ 11

V. Standardized Testing .................................................................................................. 12

VI. Setting up the Tutoring Room ...................................................................................... 13

VII. Establishing the Reporting System .............................................................................. 14

VIII. Scheduling the Students and Tutors ............................................................................ 16

IX. Grading the Student .................................................................................................... 18

Sample Grading System ...................................................................................... 19

Sample Report of Progress in Reading ................................................................ 20

X. Graduating the Student ............................................................................................... 21

XI. Responding to Low Student Intent During the Tutoring Session .................................. 22

XII. Read Right Project Time-Line...................................................................................... 23

XIII. Assistance Directory .................................................................................................... 24

Preparation for Project Start-Up 1

©1995-2009, Read Right Systems, Inc. Read Right®

Shelton, Washington US Patent 6869287 Preparation_Start-Up_Elementary.doc 07/15/09


I. Checklist of Items to be Completed Prior to Project Start-up

Done Date Page

6

School staff to be trained as tutors have been identified and have been notified that every time a consultant is on site they must be available for training full time during the school day and for one hour after the students go home.

6

Tutors have been informed that if they have a mild reading problem, they must agree to be tutored before or after school to eliminate it.

11

Students who are to participate in the project have been selected.

12

A plan has been made to administer the standardized pre-test prior to the arrival of the consultant.

13

A room dedicated for Read Right tutoring has been provided.

13

The Read Right tutoring room has been equipped.

14-15

The reporting options have been determined.

14-15

A decision has been made about who gets the monthly reports.

16

A plan has been made to make students available for consultations.

16

The tutoring schedule has been defined.

17

A plan has been made for freeing students for tutoring.

21

A plan has been made for allowing a student to leave Read Right immediately upon graduation and for a new student to immediately fill the vacated slot.

2 Preparation for Project Start-Up




II. Building Support for Your Read Right® Project

Meeting District Requirements

There may be district requirements that impact your Read Right project, and if you have been working at the building level to bring Read Right to your students, then you may not be aware of them. Perhaps there are some key, important things that you must do to move ahead with the project as planned. To avoid an unexpected postponement or even an indefinite delay of the project, consider whether you need to communicate with the:

Local school board

District superintendent

Accounting/bookkeeping personnel

Special programs personnel

Keeping Colleagues Informed

Prior to Project Start-up

As you seek to keep interested parties in your district informed about your decision to bring Read Right to your students, please call on Read Right Systems to provide you with informational materials to share. We would be pleased to assist you in designing a presentation. A sample agenda is provided in this section, and if we have Read Right consultants in your geographic area, we can be there to assist in the presentation. Once the Project is Underway

When students in Read Right begin eliminating their reading problems, the excitement that is generated is contagious, and district and building personnel not directly involved with the Read Right project tend to get caught up in the excitement and become very supportive (assuming they are kept informed). It can be useful to build a positive expectation by doing one or more of the following:

Circulate data on students' progress at staff meetings or through e-mail, memos, etc. Share individual success stories of students.

Provide information for classroom teachers to report to students' parents.

Provide an informational letter to teachers and staff at the beginning of the school year. A sample letter is included in this section. Feel free to modify the sample in any way you choose or to create your own letter.

Arrange formal presentations to the school board, district personnel and building personnel to highlight the achievements of individual students and the results of the project.

Gaining Community Support

You can build support in the community—with parents and others—by finding a way to communicate your excitement about the Read Right project and, more importantly, the students’ successes.

Send a letter to parents of targeted students telling them about the program. A sample letter is provided in this section.

Ask your local newspaper, radio, or TV reporters to come observe the program, interview students, tutors, classroom teachers, and principals. Read Right success stories make great human-interest reading! Don’t stop with just one story. Invite them back periodically.

(To return to the Table of Contents, click here)




Sample Agenda

Read Right Information Meeting

Purpose of Meeting

To raise the awareness level concerning the goals and anticipated results of the Read Right project

Introduction of Program

Why your school is bringing Read Right to its students

History of discovery of and investigation of Read Right

Need in school

How participants were (or will be) selected

Overview of Read Right

Development History

Need for fundamentally different approach to help students eliminate or quickly reduce reading problems

Results

Works for virtually everyone (learning disabled, dyslexic, Title I, all ages, etc.)

Works quickly

Results from data base:

About 18 tutoring hours per grade level advanced for secondary students and 40 hours for elementary students

Over 370 projects in industry and schools in 44 states with over two million tutoring hours

Why Read Right Works

The Read Right System of instruction was developed by integrating knowledge of brain research, learning theory and reading theory.

Read Right theory: Read Right, grounded in Piaget’s theory of interactive constructivism, relies on the

plasticity of the brain to remodel the reading network, which in poor readers guides the reading process inappropriately. Even the most challenged students are quickly transformed from poor readers to excellent readers—in a matter of months, not years!

Invite listeners to visit the program at any time. If they drop by when a Read Right

consultant is on site, they can ask him or her questions.





Sample Letter to Teachers and Staff

Dear Teachers and Staff,

We are pleased and excited to announce that our school is offering the Read Right

program to selected

students.

Read Right is an innovative approach to teaching reading that enables students with reading problems to

eliminate them in a relatively short amount of time. Other programs are underway or complete in 44

states. In addition to its school projects, Read Right Systems also has conducted more than eighty

successful workforce projects in corporations and has worked with Workforce Investment Act projects in

seven counties in West Virginia.

Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., developed Read Right in order to solve her own son’s reading problems after

traditional instructional approaches had failed to help him. In developing the program, Dr. Tadlock spent

three years doing post-doctoral research to discover how the brain learns a process and what the reader’s

brain must do in order to read excellently. The Read Right method of instruction is based on her findings.

Four of our staff members are being trained to be Read Right tutors, and they will be working on a daily

basis with students selected especially for the program. Some students in your classes may be chosen to

participate and will continue in the program until their reading problems have been eliminated. We fully

anticipate you will begin noticing progress in the student’s reading very soon.

The Read Right program is a pullout model. As a student is promoted from the program, a new student

will fill the empty tutoring slot. We are developing a schedule and will share it with you as soon as it is

finished. We are confident that the improvement in the students' reading will compensate for the

inconvenience of the pullout and appreciate your cooperation. Note: Edit this paragraph to customize to your particular situation.

Ms. Smith and Ms. Jones, our tutors, are available if you would like to learn more about the program. A

Read Right consultant will be here to provide training this year and will be happy to discuss the program

with you and answer any questions you have. Note: Please supply the number of tutors and their names.

Sincerely,





Sample Letter to Parents of Identified

Read Right Students

Dear Parents,

We are pleased and excited to announce that our school is offering a new reading program called

Read Right

to selected students. Read Right is a new approach to teaching reading that enables

students with reading problems to eliminate their reading problems in a relatively short amount

of time. It has shown exceptional results in other schools where it has been used. Other projects

are underway or complete in more than 44 states. In addition to their school projects, Read Right

Systems has conducted more than eighty successful workforce projects in corporations.

Read Right was developed by Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., in order to solve her own son's reading

problems after traditional instructional approaches had failed to help him. In developing the

program, Dr. Tadlock spent three years doing post-doctoral research to discover how the brain

learns a process and what the reader's brain must do in order to read excellently. The Read Right

method of instruction is based on her findings.

Four of our staff members are being trained to be Read Right tutors, and they will be working on

a daily basis with students selected especially for the program. Your child has been chosen to

participate and will continue in the program until the reading problem is eliminated. We fully

anticipate you will begin noticing progress in your child’s reading very soon.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the program, and feel free to arrange a

visitation if you would like to see the program in action.






III. Selecting or Hiring Tutors

Selecting or Hiring Tutors

Well-qualified tutors are essential for the success of the Read Right project. They can be selected from current staff—teachers or paraprofessionals—or the school can hire tutors especially for the project. A job description for the tutor position is included in this section. There is also a Read Right Trainer job description included. (Many clients choose a train-the-trainer model, which means that during the second semester (or during the next school year), one of the initially-trained tutors will participate in advanced training to become a Read Right

Trainer.)

Every time consultants are on site, the trainees must be available for training full time during the school day and for one hour after the students go home. It is best if Read Right

tutors have no other

assigned duties. This will not only maximize the return on your investment and allow the largest possible number of students to be served, but it also gives the trainee the experience needed to become an excellent tutor. There is a direct positive correlation between the ability of the tutor and the speed with which the reading problem is eliminated. Faster elimination of reading problems means more students can be served.

Read Right Systems can provide, at your request, any of the services listed below to assist you in selecting tutors:

A sample classified ad for advertising the position

Interview questions

Initial telephone interviews conducted by Read Right personnel

Participation in final, in-person interviews during the first day of Project Start-Up

Screening for Reading Problems

Each potential tutor must have his or her reading assessed by Read Right consultants during the first two days of Project Start-Up. The existence of a significant reading problem, as determined by Read Right

assessment, will disqualify the candidate as a tutor. If there is a mild reading problem, the tutor must agree to be tutored before or after school at least until they have been tutored in the Purple Range (8

th -

9th grade) and are ready to advance to the Yellow Range of text complexity (10

th -11

th grade). We would

prefer that trainees remain in tutoring until the reading problem is completely eliminated. Read Right Tutor

Certification will not be issued to any tutor whose consultation places them below the yellow range for tutoring. It is highly recommended that tutor candidates agree to be tutored until their reading problems are eliminated.

Long-Term Tutors

Because of the considerable investment required to train tutors, we recommend that you make every effort to assign or hire trainees who have deep roots in the community and can be expected to retain their positions as Read Right tutors for a considerable period of time.


If the tutors are not selected prior to arrival of the consultants,

the training schedule is disrupted, and the quality of the project suffers.




Job Description for a Read Right Tutor Position and Purpose

The position of Read Right tutor can be filled by certified or non-certified staff and requires on-going

training by Read Right consultants to insure that each student receives excellent tutoring. Trainees are

certified as Read Right tutors when they can demonstrate competence in the areas listed below.

Read Right Tutor Certification. To receive Read Right

Tutor Certification, one must demonstrate

competency in effectively tutoring a wide range of students. Trainees must demonstrate an ability to effectively use the Read Right

Tutor Manual as a guide and resource to insure the integrity of

the methodology is maintained. Additionally, trainees must be able to perform assessments, and correctly determining when it is time to advance, promote, or graduate a student. The conferring of Read Right

Tutor Certification also indicates that the trainee is able to manage the students and

the project and to work effectively with school personnel to keep the tutoring slots filled.

Read Right Tutor Certification is valid for one year. Re-certification can be performed by Read Right

consultants or by a Read Right Certified Trainer.

Qualifications

Excellent people skills, enthusiasm for helping others, respectful attitude

Able to easily build rapport and trust

Willingness to challenge one’s own thinking and learn new processes

Self-confident; willingness to expose areas of weakness

Able to work flexible and extended hours when the consultants are on site

Ability to work independently within a larger context of team cooperation

Prompt follow-up on details

Pro-active approach to effective communication with teachers, administrators, and Read Right Systems.

Love of reading

Excellent eyesight and hearing





Job Description for Read Right Tutor—continued

Job Functions and Responsibilities 1. Become certified as a Read Right

tutor.

2. Administer pre-tests as students enter the program, and administer post-tests and exit interviews when students leave the program.

3. Inform school administration about program progress on a regular basis.

4. Register the students in the MP3 management system, and daily enter information regarding attendance, tutoring time, critical thinking time, and advancement to higher ranges. Upload the information at the end of each month in preparation for report generation.

5. Maintain the quality of the program by using the student progress reporting system and Read Right field consultants as resources. Take follow-up action as necessary.

6. Maintain an open line of communication with students, teachers, administrators, the District trainer, and Read Right Systems to assure program quality.

7. Be accessible and respond promptly to student, teacher, administration, trainer, and Read Right Systems concerns and scheduling needs.

8. Perform the coordination and organization work required to keep all tutoring slots filled.

9. Work with a variety of Read Right consultants who come to train tutors.


To protect the intellectual property of Dr. Dee Tadlock and

Kyle Tadlock, each tutor must sign a non-compete agreement.




Job Description for Read Right Trainer Position and Purpose

The position of Read Right Trainer can be filled by certified or non-certified staff who have been certified

as a Read Right tutor and then undergoes training to become a Read Right Trainer. The position requires

initial training by Read Right consultants and an on-going re-certification process to insure that the

integrity and quality of the program is maintained as the trainer participates in training additional tutors.

Read Right Trainer Certification. Read Right Trainer Certification is awarded to those individuals

who have received Tutor Certification, undergone train-the-trainer training and have demonstrated competency in training others well enough to qualify for Read Right

Tutor Certification. The trainee

must have sufficient understanding of the theoretical constructs that support Read Right to enable them to explain to tutors the relationships between individual aspects of the tutoring process and the theory that supports them. They must also demonstrate coordination and management skills required to assure a successful Read Right

project. The District (or Building) Trainer is the key liaison

between the District and Read Right Systems for issues of quality assurance.

Read Right Trainer Certification is valid for one year. Re-certification can be performed by Read Right

consultants.

Qualifications

Excellent people skills, enthusiasm for helping others, respectful attitude

Actively listens to identify the implications of what others are saying and responds appropriately

Appreciates different points of view or ways of thinking

Able to easily build rapport and trust

Strong desire to challenge one’s own thinking and learn new processes

Able to work flexible and extended hours when the consultants are on site

Excellent problem-solving skills

Ability to know when you have enough information about a situation to make good decisions and when you need to gather more information

Ability to recognize when the process you’re following is not getting the desired results

Ability to “read” the cues being presented by your environment and to change your behavior accordingly to achieve desired results

Ability to work independently within a larger context of team cooperation

Prompt follow-up on details

Pro-active approach to organizing, prioritizing, and managing multiple tasks

Articulate in expressing complex ideas so they are easily understood

Love of reading

Excellent eyesight and hearing





Job Description for Read Right Trainer—continued

Job Functions and Responsibilities 1. Become a certified Read Right

Tutor.

2. Become a certified Read Right

Trainer.

3. Inform school administration about program progress on a regular basis. 4. Use the student progress reporting system as a tool in maintaining the quality of each project site.

Take follow-up action as necessary. 5. Insure the on-going quality of each project site by doing periodic, systematic training and quality

assurance visitations. 6. Re-certify each Read Right

tutor on an annual basis.

7. Schedule and conduct tutor meetings to build program cohesiveness, and function as a facilitator for

mutual problem-solving and for continuous in-service training. 8. Maintain an open line of communication with tutors, students, administrators, and Read Right

Systems to assure program quality. 9. Be accessible and respond promptly to student, tutor, administration, and Read Right

Systems

concerns and scheduling needs. 10. Work with tutors and administrators to keep all tutoring slots filled. 11. Use Read Right

Consultant(s) as a resource.


To protect the intellectual property of Dr. Dee Tadlock and

Kyle Tadlock, each trainer must sign a non-compete agreement.





IV. Student Selection

Selection Criteria

Each school defines its own selection criteria for identifying students to participate in the Read Right®

program. You may choose any of the following criteria to target students, or develop additional criteria as you see fit. Often times funding sources determines at least in part who must be served.

Students in a particular grade

Students with the lowest test scores on District or State tests

Students who, in the aggregate, represent a wide range of abilities

Students who have been referred by their classroom teachers

Students who are currently enrolled in special programs such as Special Education, LAP (Learning Assistance Program), Title I, English as a Second Language

Students from as many different classrooms as possible to garner widespread staff support

Number of Students

Number of Students Per Tutor

Each tutor serves five students during each tutoring session.

Number of Students Per Class Day

For planning purposes, the maximum number of students who can initially be accommodated in Read Right

equals:

The number of periods in the school day X 5 students per period X the number of tutors. Please note that the total time required for planning and paperwork for a Read Right

tutor is about an hour

a month. Therefore, a preparation period is unnecessary, and tutoring sessions can be held every period unless doing so violates the negotiated contract.


If the students are not identified prior to arrival of the consultants,






V. Standardized Testing

A Norm-Referenced, Standardized Reading Test Will Be Administered

Read Right Systems requires that all students be pre-tested and post-tested with a norm-referenced standardized test.

Who Will Provide the Tests?

Read Right Systems will mail everything needed to administer the tests. Your Testing Kit will be sent to you prior to Project Start-Up and will include:

Test booklets for both the pre-test and the post-test

10 test books will be provided for each grade served. (The test will need to be administered in cohorts of ten students.)

Answer sheets

Complete instructions for administering the tests and filling in the answer sheets

You will administer only the comprehension portion of the test. The student is given 40 minutes to finish this portion.

Complete instructions for administering the tests and filling in the answer sheets

Who Will Administer the Test?

Both the pre-test and the post-test will be administered by school staff. Complete instructions for administration will be provided. The students will take the pre-test prior to the arrival of the consultant for Project Start-Up. Each student will take a post-test when she exits the program or at the end of the school year if she will not be tutored the following year. You may test your students at the end of the school year even though they will return the next year if you choose.

What about Students who Enter the Program Later?

You will have sufficient test booklets for each grade and extra answer sheets in the test file of your Testing Kit. These will allow you to test students as they enter the program to fill tutoring slots vacated by graduating students and to test students who graduate mid-year. It is important to administer the pre-test prior to the beginning of the tutoring.

When Will Post-Tests Be Administered?

Students are post-tested when they graduate from the Read Right® program, when they leave the school,

or at the end of the school year if they are not going to be tutored the following year. You may test your students at the end of the school year even though they will return the next year if you choose.

If the students are not tested prior to arrival of the consultants,







VI. Setting Up The Read Right Tutoring Room

Read Right Tutoring Room

The Read Right project requires a room large enough to comfortably accommodate the tutors and their

students (five per tutor). If the room is small, dividers should be provided between tutoring stations for sound absorption and a visual barrier. When planning the Read Right

tutoring room, take into account not

only the space required for the tutoring work stations, but also the space required for the library, filing cabinet and an optional tutors’ desk.

The Read Right Tutoring Room must contain:

Tutoring stations for students and their tutors An 8-foot library table per tutor with 6 chairs or Individual student desks with two extra chairs

Sufficient electrical outlets to accommodate at least 2 power strips for the MP3 player system.

Two tables at least 6' x 2 ½' to hold the book bins for the Read Right Library

Three-drawer file cabinet and office supplies


If the Read Right Classroom is not ready prior to the arrival of the consultants, the

training schedule is disrupted, and the quality of the project suffers.





VII. Establishing the Reporting System

Standard Reports

Read Right Systems provides monthly reports that summarize each student’s progress and analyze the

health of the project in several dimensions. The tutors provide us with the raw data, which they enter into the MP3 System on a daily basis and upload to Read Right Systems for purposes of compiling monthly reports. Samples of selected reports are included in this section. The standard package of reports includes the following.

Project Summary Report

The Project Summary Report is a monthly report that summarizes the project activity for the month. It includes a record of the number of students tutored for the month, total hours, number of grades gained, and average hours of tutoring per grade gained. It also reports the number of students tutored and the number of graduates for the month and for the project to date. Data is desegregated for special education students and English language learners.

Range Distribution Report

The Range Distribution Report is a monthly report that contrasts, via bar graphs, the number of students at each grade-level range at entry as compared to the present.

Options: Entry is from the beginning of the current school year.

Entry is from the beginning of the project.

Active Student Report

The Active Student Report is a monthly report that tracks each student’s number of hours of independent reading, tutoring hours, grades gained, hours per grades gained, and critical thinking hours. The information is presented in bar-graph form and also as a table.

Options: Names of students appear on the report together with their identification numbers.

Students are identified only by their assigned numbers. No names appear on the report.

Graduates and Exiting Students Report

The Graduates and Exiting Students Report is a monthly report that includes all students who have graduated, who have chosen not to participate, or who have withdrawn from the program for reasons such as schedule conflicts, moving, etc. The report presents each student’s start and end dates, total independent reading hours, total tutoring hours, total grades gained and average hours per grade gained.

Options: Names of students appear on the report together with their identification numbers.

Students are identified only by their assigned numbers. No names appear on the report.





VII. Establishing the Reporting System—continued

WHO SHOULD RECEIVE THE REPORTS?

The monthly reports are the major vehicle for quality assurance and should be received by everyone who is accountable for the success of the project. Not everyone may want every report, however. Sometimes clients prefer sending all reports to one of the tutors and having him or her forward reports to other

interested parties.


Read the information in this section carefully and decide which

reporting options you want and who should receive the various reports.





VIII. Scheduling the Students and Tutors

Scheduling the Students for Consultations

During the first week of Start-Up, Read Right® Consultants and trainees will conduct individual consultations

with the students who have been targeted to be in the program. The purpose of the consultation is to determine the complexity of text the student should be placed in for Read Right

tutoring.

Scheduling for consultations works best if a tag-team approach can be used—that is, if the students can be released at will from whatever classroom they happen to be in when they are needed. Though this can be disruptive to teachers, it is very helpful in maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the process of training tutors to do consultations.

If some teachers in your building would be comfortable with this approach and others would prefer a definite schedule, then schedule the less flexible teachers’ students in half-hour blocks with unscheduled one-hour blocks in between.

Students are not needed for consultations until Monday afternoon, or in some cases, until Tuesday morning of the first week of Start-Up. However, students can come for consultations according to their normal tutoring schedule if that would be easiest for all concerned. They will be asked to read silently or listen to books on tapes while waiting for their individual consultations and for the individual Starting the Student Process, which helps them learn their role as a student in the Read Right

program.

Scheduling the Students for Tutoring

The students can all be scheduled in advance of the consultant’s arrival, or the schedule can be established toward the end of the first week of Start-Up once the consultations are completed. If students are scheduled in advance, there may be need for some adjustment to minimize the number of different range categories in each group. (Range categories include: non-readers and first grade, second and third grade, and fourth grade and above.)

Most clients schedule their students for daily tutoring sessions in Read Right to eliminate reading

problems the most quickly for the most students possible. The reading problems will be eliminated faster, and more students will be served during the year if students receive consistent tutoring.

Defining the Tutoring Schedule

The length of a tutoring session can be flexible to coordinate with your school’s master schedule, but it should not be less than 40 minutes nor longer than 60 minutes. The daily tracking of student activity and the monthly reporting is automated, so there is no need to schedule planning time for tutors unless you are obligated by contract to do so. It also is important to note that in order to maximize the return on the investment required to train the tutors and to serve the highest possible number of students, it is best if the tutors are not assigned tasks other than full time Read Right tutoring during their workday.


If the schedule for consultations is not completed

prior to arrival of the consultants, the training schedule is disrupted,

and the quality of the project suffers.




VIII. Scheduling the Students and Tutors—continued Freeing Students for Tutoring A plan must be formulated for making selected students available for tutoring.

It is important that the student not be dual-enrolled in a reading intervention program. The Read Right

methodology is designed to send very particularized messages to the students’ brain. We don’t

want his brain receiving incompatible messages from other programs.

Competency-Based Exiting Students should be exited from the program when their reading problem has been eliminated, and another student should be brought in to the program from to fill the empty tutoring slot. See Section X, Graduating the Student. It is important that the student not be accountable to make up work that is missed due to participation in Read Right

®. We don’t want the student to perceive Read Right

tutoring as punitive.

Students will not want to participate in Read Right tutoring if doing so creates extra work for them. It doesn’t

really make sense for students who are struggling due to reading problems to be accountable for extra work.

Sometimes the following rationales are offered to justify making students responsible for classes missed. Suggested solutions to the issues raised are provided. 1. By missing a portion of the day in the regular classroom, the student is not following the master

curriculum plan and the building is therefore in violation of building, district, or state mandates.

The student is pulled from a language-related class and given language arts credit for Read Right. In this case, the report card can list the class as Basic Reading.

The student is pulled from a content class (science, history, social studies, humanities) and is directed to choose books from that content for use while being tutored in Read Right. Credit is given for the content.

2. The sending teacher is accountable to grade the student for the class he is missing because he is

officially enrolled in that class. She has to have some basis for the grading.

The student is pulled from a language-related class and given language arts credit for Read Right. The student is graded on his performance in Read Right, or in some cases Read Right is categorized as a pass/fail class. The Read Right

tutor ascribes or recommends grades for the

student. In cases where the tutor is an instructional aide, she/he recommends each student’s grade to the teacher of record and provides documentation for the recommendation. See Section IX, Grading the Student.

Freeing the Trainee for Instruction Whenever consultants are conducting training, there will be sporadic instances when the consultant must spend time instructing the trainee without the student. During this time the students can attend the program according to the regular schedule and perform independent reading.






IX. Grading the Read Right® Student

If Read Right is offered as a class, who should assign the Read Right

grade?

If the Read Right tutor is a certified teacher, the teacher is responsible.

If the Read Right tutor is a paraprofessional, often there are legal and professional issues in asking or

allowing the tutor to be responsible for assigning grades to students. Clients have overcome these problems in two ways:

1. They have assisted us in developing a grading system that measures the important elements of the student’s responsibility in the Read Right

program, is based on an objective standard and is

essentially clerical in nature. It is therefore possible for a paraprofessional to apply the system in a competent and professional manner. That system is presented as Example 1. Any client may use the system as is, or they may modify it as they see fit.

2. They have designated the sending teacher as the teacher of record. The teacher understands the basis of the grading system and meets with the tutor prior to when grades are due. The tutor shares the records and makes recommendations for the grade for each student. The teacher is free to examine the records and question the recommendations and can be provided with copies for the files.

How can the Read Right

grade be determined?

Attached are two examples of student evaluation models.

Example 1 assesses the degree to which a student participates appropriately in the program. The student receives points for attendance, the degree of effort and the amount of independent reading. The number of points earned determines the grade received.

Example 2 is a criterion-referenced narrative report of progress in reading improvement. It describes the symptoms of the reading problem displayed by the student at entry into the program and contrasts that with the symptoms displayed currently. The analysis of the reduction in symptoms provides a valid and reliable measure of the improvement in reading. This system reflects the same kind of formative evaluation procedures that the tutors are trained to implement in the tutoring process. They are, therefore, able to utilize this narrative format. Most of the clients who have used this system have been elementary schools that do not ascribe letter grades to their student progress reports.

Read Right can also be offered as a pass/fail class. If Read Right is offered as a pull out model, who should assign the Read Right

grade?

Even if Read Right students are held accountable for the work missed in the sending class, we believe the

grade earned in Read Right should be factored into the total grade for the class. Once again, the tutor

recommends the grade that should be ascribed for Read Right to the sending teacher.





Example 1

Grading System

Read Right Tutoring

Student Week of

Attendance Intent Independent Reading

Total Teacher Initial

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Weekly Total

Weekly Grade

Points are awarded or subtracted on a daily basis for:

Attendance:

2 points if the student attends class

Deduct 1 point if the tutor must bring the student to the class

Zero points if the student is absent

Degree of Engagement:

3 points if the student displays high intent

Deduct up to 3 points (at tutor’s discretion) if low intent was a significant problem

Independent Reading:

1 point if the student did independent reading

Grading Scale:

30 points: A 20-21: C+

28-29: A- 18-19: C

26-27: B+ 16-17: C-

24-25: B 14-15: D+

22-23: B- 12-13: D

10-11: D-


The total points accumulated during the week will determine the weekly grade. Weekly grades will be

averaged to determine the final grade for the term.




Example 2

Report of Progress in Reading

The Read Right Program

Date

When entered the Read Right program, the following

symptoms of the reading problem were noted: Currently, the following symptoms are being displayed: As you can see, there has been an elimination of these symptoms: Also the following symptoms, though still present, have been significantly reduced in frequency:

Finally, the amount of independent reading that

has completed outside of class time during this quarter is:

Wonderful; progress in eliminating the reading problem will proceed more quickly as a result.

Satisfactory

Less than desirable; progress in eliminating the reading problem will be slowed as a result.






X. Graduating the Student

When can a student leave the Read Right program? Read Right

reflects the understanding that reading is a process, operating primarily implicitly and guided

by a neural network built specifically for that purpose. A poor reader has constructed a neural network for reading that guides the process inappropriately. The only way to eliminate his reading problem is to get his brain to remodel the neural network so it operates correctly. The Read Right

methodology constructs

an environment in which the brain is compelled to do that remodeling work, thereby eliminating the reading problem. The student is ready to graduate when he is an excellent reader—his reading problem will have been eliminated .

Graduating the student before the end of the grading period If the student has been pulled from another class to participate in Read Right

tutoring, the

situation can be handled in one of the following ways. If the student has been responsible for both the sending class and Read Right, he simply returns to the sending class and a new student is brought in to fill the vacated slot.

If the student has been responsible only for Read Right, there will be a disruption when he enters a class after it is well underway and another student leaves it before the term is completed. Clients usually handle the situation in one of the following ways: 1. The student remains in Read Right until the end of the term, but is no longer tutored. He participates

in independent reading and critical thinking until the end of the term.

The vacated tutoring slot is filled by a new student and the sending teacher is asked to treat the situation just as she would if the student were moving to a different district.

2. The student is returned to the sending class, and the teacher is asked to integrate the student into the class in the same way she would if the student had just moved into the district.


If the student has been enrolled in Read Right as a separate class, the situation can be handled in one of the following ways.

1. The student remains in Read Right until the end of the term, but is no longer tutored. He participates

in independent reading and critical thinking until the end of the term.


2. The student enters a different class—usually an elective, and the teacher is asked to integrate the student into the class in the same way she would if the student had just moved into the district. If the student has partial credit in a core class, he can enter that class and perhaps earn a complete credit.







XI. Responding to Low Student Intent During the Tutoring Session

The Read Right Consultant will train your tutors in all aspects of conducting the tutoring program including how to respond to instances when a student displays low intent as evidenced by inappropriate behavior or comments or by failure to fully engage in the process. This is accomplished by the administration of Free Comments, a meeting with the student to address the low intent issue, and/or implementing a disengagement technique specifically designed to deal with the problem area.

Purpose of Addressing Low Student Intent In order for Read Right

tutoring to result in the elimination of a student’s reading problem, the student

must assume control of his own learning by participating responsibly in the tutoring process. Low intent as evidenced by inappropriate behavior significantly slows improvement, which is not acceptable when there are many other students in the school with reading problems who want to participate.

Low intent rarely occurs if tutors consistently implement the appropriate tutoring techniques designed to address the issue. When students understand what is expected of them, know why they are being asked to do the things tutors are requesting, and have reason to believe that their full participation will yield success in eliminating their reading problems, they usually display an intent to stay engaged in the process.

If low intent is an issue for a particular student and all attempts to address it by implementing appropriate tutoring techniques are unsuccessful, the tutor may consider the option of organizing a meeting with parents, principals, teachers, and counselors. If the problem persists, tutors may choose to remove the student from the class and bringing in another student who is serious about eliminating his reading problem. In this case, the original student is invited to return to the class at some later time when a tutoring slot is available.


The final technique for dealing with low student intent, temporary removal from the program,

could be in conflict with school procedures or, in the case of special education, could violate

the instruction plan as stated in the student’s IEP. For this reason, permission to employ this

technique will be obtained in advance by the tutor. If school personnel cannot support

temporary removal, then a different final technique can be defined by the principal and the

Read Right

tutors.





XII. Read Right® Project Time-Line

TRAINING UP TO FOUR TUTORS PROJECT TIME-LINE

When consultants are on site, project personnel must be available during the entire day for training. The time-line will be adjusted as needed to coordinate with the school calendar and to account for scheduling constraints experienced by Read Right Systems. If holidays, weather, absence of the trainees, school assemblies, early dismissal, or other unforeseen events shorten the training week, the missed training day(s) will not be made up except at the discretion of Read Right Systems personnel. NOTE: For winter or spring starts, the schedule will be adjusted--perhaps even straddling two school years.

ACTIVITY Project Start-Up Project Continue

s

Training Visit

Project Continue

s

Training Visit

Project Continue

s

Training Visit

Project Continue

s

Training Visit

Project Continues

PROJECT WEEK

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Two to Three

Weeks

Training Week

4

Three Weeks

Training Week

5

Three Weeks

Training Week

6

Three Weeks

Training Week

7

Until the end of the

school year

A Read Right consultant is on the project site providing hands-on training.

Read Right staff provides off-site support.

TRAINING A TRAINER and Up to Four Additional Tutors

PROJECT TIME-LINE NOTE: For winter or spring starts, the schedule will be adjusted--perhaps even straddling two school years.

ACTIVITY Project Start-up Project Continues

Training Visit

Project Continues

Training Visit

Project Continues

Training Visit

Project Continues

PROJECT WEEK

Wk 1

Wk 2

Wk 3

Two to Three weeks

Training Week 4

Three Weeks

Training Week 5

About 7 Weeks

Training Week 7

Until the end of the school

year

TRAINER ACTIVITIES

Wk one solo

Start-Up Training

Tutors at home school

Coached Reading Training

Tutors at home school

Critical Thinking Training

Solo CTP Training after 5 weeks;

Tutoring

End-of-Year

Training and

certification

Tutors and monitors

end-of-year activities

A Read Right consultant is on the project site providing hands-on training.

Read Right staff provides off-site support.






XIII. Assistance Directory

Office Staff

Read Right Systems personnel are available to support the local tutors and project managers in

maintaining a smoothly operating project. The following table will assist you in contacting the person who can help you with whatever questions arise.

Issue/Need: Contact Person Phone number

Project Coordinator Nate Marciochi 360-427-6752 ext. 118 The project coordinator is the major liaison person between the Read Right

project in the school

and Read Right Systems. The project coordinator will help you with any question or problem you have—either by assisting you directly or by putting you in contact with the correct person.

Operations Director Dee Tadlock 360-427-6752 ext. 114 Tom Brown 360-427-6752 ext. 144 Library/Materials/Shipping Tamie Kanicky 360-427-6752 ext. 120 Accounting Jolene Salazar 360-427-6752 ext. 111 Data Entry Tamie Kanicky 360-427-6752 ext. 120 Individual Tutoring Services Nate Marciochi 360-427-6752 ext. 118 Marketing & Sales Maureen Mortlock 360-427-6752 ext. 132 Mervina Sturgeon 360-427-6752 ext. 129 Jan Swinton 509-385-8504 Dee Tadlock 360-427-6752 ext. 114 Lee Gilles 360-427-6752 ext. 121


Read Right Systems, Inc. 310 W. Birch St. Shelton, WA 98584

E-mail: [email protected] or [first name][last initial] @readright.com

Example: [email protected]

Reception Phone: 360-427-9440

Fax: 360-427-0177

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Read Right Project Proposal

Documents

Transcript of Read Right Project Proposal