Teach Effectively!

From the northern California news source Redding.com, I learned that a local school will use grant funds to help special educators improve their reading and language arts teaching. I’m curious about how the school plans to do this. Any guesses?

State grant helps Lewiston school

LEWISTON – Lewiston Elementary School has been awarded a $19,500 grant from the state.

The Professional Development in Reading for Special Education Teachers Pilot Program grants are designed to provide support to special education teachers to help them improve reading and language-art instruction.

About 10 percent of California students are designated as needing special education services. In all, $26.6 million was given to 27 school districts across the state.

Link for the article.

In my wanderings I came upon a Web site called “Third Education Group,” an organization that says it plans to present independent analyses of education policy issues. Though I’ve only read some of the material available there, the site presents an interesting perspective on some issues. Here is the group’s self-description.

There are two sides to every U.S. education policy debate …and that is the problem.

Those two sides – public education’s entrenched groups allied with the Democratic and Republican Parties – represent the interests of few U.S. citizens on education issues. Yet, with the cooperation of most education journalists, and some wealthy foundations, these groups have become the source of virtually all the information provided the public about education policy. Their biased information is then sold to the rest of the world as neutral, objective, scientific research that, when trusted, can compromise education policy in other nations like an invasive, exotic species of weed.
Continue reading ‘Third Education Group’

The ultra-strict What Works Clearinghouse, which seemed like such a good idea 10 years ago, has issued a new statement about efficacy of another early education program, Ready, Set, Leap™, reporting that it does not have “discernible effects on oral language, print knowledge, phonological processing, early reading/writing skills, and math.”

Here’s how the vendor’s Web site describes Ready, Set, Leap™”

This comprehensive prekindergarten curriculum provides a full year of instruction and incorporates academic, music, visual arts, and social/emotional development skills to address the needs of all students.
Continue reading ‘Ready, Set, Leap may not’