Reading Recovery

It just wasn't really going very well for him.

And so in first grade, he was actually identified as being in the bottom third of his class, and so he was put into reading recovery.

And he had these amazing, committed teachers who did amazing work with him, but they were using a program, Reading Recovery, that probably wasn't the right one for him because he learned to predict what was happening with the text really well, but he didn't really learn what was actually in those words.

And then so he graduated from that midyear and was doing okay.

But second grade, we actually moved and ended up in a school district that was doing a lot of systematic phonics, and that really helped.

That was a, a big deal because we were a really heavy balanced literacy state, and although we had early literacy laws and a dyslexia law on the books, we still were seeing the use of three-cueing.

And so that was also written into our code that it could be used as an early intervention under the name of Reading Recovery.

And so that was one thing that was influential in removing that method of instruction and that intervention that was actually tapped legally as an intervention that could be used for students who are struggling.

So it might have something like that, some level, some parameters on what can and can't happen.

I would say, although I completed my master's in education and my reading specialist credential, and I thought I was so well equipped to teach reading, well, I found out I was not.

Honestly, the best training I've ever participated in was reading recovery training.

It was the first time I understood about reading.

and how to teach students and more importantly, how to observe students and to think about what assets they're bringing to the table instead of the way I was trained.

Mostly prescribed curriculum that everyone had to start on this page and everyone had to have this story or answer these questions or respond to this prompt.

It wasn't just in literacy, but it was math, science, all the way across the board.

Let's get back to reading recovery.

I was reading the National Reading Panel report over the weekend, something I do for enjoyment, and they had very positive things to say about reading recovery.

They can show the documentary and they can show what can happen to a district if they don't follow the science of reading.

We were the first district in Ohio home of Fontes and Pinnell, North American headquarters of Reading Recovery.

So we and we collaborated at every turn with our district.

Unfortunately, our superintendent would not even meet with us.

Let me start by taking you back.

This episode is Reading Recovery Recovery.

Part one is how I got angry and then I got busy.

After I graduated and started working, I did my Sounds-Write training.

It was fantastic.

During the training, the reading wars were heavily discussed, and it was like a fire was lit within me.

I was riled up.

It was so, so interesting and just so dumbfounding.