This article describes how learning communities can reach reluctant learners by providing multiple opportunities for recognizing the inner gifts each child possesses and tapping these strengths to foster personal mastery and independence. Using servant leadership and the Circle of Courage as a guiding vision, the staff at Grandfather Academy has…

When selecting reading across the curriculum interventions, educators should consider the extent of the evidence base on intervention effectiveness and the fit with the school or district context, whether they are purchasing a product from vendors or developing it internally. This report provides guidance in the decisionmaking. This report looks…

These stories formed a series in the Greensboro, North Carolina, "News-Record" describing a school system's attempts to prevent reading failure. The themes of the articles include the following: the implementation of the Right to Read program in an elementary school; a diagnostic reading center which is an alternative, a supplement, and…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report is…

This nonexperimental, longitudinal field study examines the extent to which variation in observed classroom supports (quality of emotional and instructional interactions and amount of exposure to literacy and math activities) predicts trajectories of achievement in reading and math from 54 months to fifth grade. Growth mixture modeling detected…

A study investigated the use of visualizing in remembering or understanding difficult abstract prose. Subjects, 40 students in two freshman developmental reading classes in a state college in North Carolina, received either instruction in drawing out images or in writing paraphrases as they read difficult material. Posttests of abstract reading…

Describes the efforts of a North Carolina high school principal to adapt another school's computer network system to a reading comprehension improvement project in his school. Recounts administrative networking applications at Muskogee (Oklahoma) Public Schools and offers tips for choosing and evaluating computer networks. (MLH)

During the past several years, school superintendents and educational leaders from around the country have convened at the Pearson Education Instructional Leadership Council to discuss solutions for some of the most pressing issues they confront, especially regarding teaching and learning. Several common change principles have emerged from these…

This paper contends that the most difficult task facing state policymakers is to understand that the strong feelings on both sides of the reading debate may not be truly reflective of the choices before them--it is not a choice between teaching reading through phonics or whole language. The paper states that a good whole language program must…

Distressed by media headlines trumpeting supposed "reading-and-writing wars," a reading education professor discusses his Delphi survey of 11 reading experts. Experts agreed that emphasizing only phonics instruction and drill-and-practice would make learning to read difficult. Reading would be facilitated by bringing together…

Published by the state of North Carolina, the purpose of this booklet is to assist teachers as they plan instruction to help students become proficient readers. The booklet contains matrices for comprehension, word identification, and instructional strategies to assist in planning and helping students be successful on the End-of-Grade (EOG) Tests…

Describing the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) program and its mission to promote and support the continual improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast, this paper focuses on the importance of improving student literacy outcomes in schools due to the demands of living in a technological,…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

This guide has been developed to help parents understand the reading section of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, the revised state reading curriculum which is intended to make sure that every student learns to read and write well. The guide offers general tips on helping each child, as well as terminology and research information that…

Teachers were asked to evaluate their competency to teach reading and to report on preservice and inservice programs in reading instruction. Since 1962, preservice programs have shifted from course-approved to competency-based teacher education. According to the teachers surveyed, college and university courses in reading were superior to other…