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WELLSBURG -- Educators at Brooke County's two primary schools have a new tool to help their pupils learn reading and other language skills.
On Monday the county school board learned about the schools' implemention of teaching strategies developed by Success for All from Alex Rodriguez, a representative of the not-for-profit Baltimore-based organization; and Rhonda Combs, the school district's curriculum director for grades K-5.
Success for All was developed by Robert Slavin and Nancy Madden, husband and wife educational researchers at Johns Hopkins University who aimed to improve the academic aptitude of youth in inner city schools. But since their program was developed in 1986, it has been adopted by 1,300 schools in 47 states, including Wells Academy in Steubenville.
Rodriguz said a key element is the division of pupils into three groups: Those at the average reading level for their age, those above it and those below.
Combs acknowledged ability-based reading groups aren't new but Success for All differs in that each group can meet with an instructor other than the homeroom teacher and each child is assessed frequently to determine if he or she should be moved into another group.
"It's not like when they're placed at one level, we keep them there forever," said said, adding the goal is to improve each child's reading skills.
The approach has been questioned in some places because it has included placing older, struggling pupils in groups with slightly younger readers. But Combs said there are no plans to do that.
She said first- and second-graders at Brooke Primary North and South each day will participate in 90 minutes of fast paced activities centered around reading and language arts.
Combs said the exercises are aimed at helping children to recognize common vowel and consonant sounds, express in writing their understanding of something they've read and develop other skills while working in teams and pairs and as individuals.
She said for their work the children will receive points, rather than letter grades, and their report cards also will shift from grades to assessments of their mastery of specific skills.
Combs said Success for All's Kindercorner program, which also includes grade-less report cards and includes subjects in addition to reading, has been in use in the kindergarten classes. She hopes to extend the program to grades 3-5 in the next few years.
She said a series of workshops are being held to inform parents about the new program.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaornline.com.)