News

REAP trains teachers to teach struggling readers using the science of reading

• 39% of Georgia 4th graders can’t read at a basic level
• 68% of 8th graders (more than 85,000 in Georgia) aren’t proficient readers.
• Kids who can’t read proficiently by 3rd grade are 4 x more likely to quit high school.
• 2/3 of kids who can’t read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
• 70% of all inmates can’t read above a 4th-grade level.

Without strong reading skills, the future often looks bleak for these kids.

Students are being left behind because traditional teaching methods have failed them.

Nearly every child is capable of reading, yet many schools write off struggling readers as hopeless. Why does this happen? Because they don’t realize that struggling readers need a different kind of reading instruction. Prevalent reading programs such as Balanced Literacy are not based on science, and they’re simply ineffective for the many thousands of Georgia students who struggle with reading.

“Scientific research has shown how children learn to read and how they should be taught. But many educators don’t know the science and, in some cases, actively resist it. As a result, millions of kids are being set up to fail.”

A quote from Hard Words: Why American kids aren’t being taught to read

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/09/10/hard-words-why-american-kids-arent-being-taught-to-read

Teachers want to know how to help

There are struggling readers in every public school, yet most teachers don’t know how to help them. It’s hard to believe, but most teachers leave college without the tools they need to effectively teach reading. Struggling readers fall through the cracks. Illiterate kids get passed to the next grade with the hope that maybe the next teacher can help them.

Every child deserves to be a reader

REAP knows there is hope for these readers. Help REAP train teachers to effectively teach struggling readers using Structured Literacy so they can become confident, successful learners! There are many teachers who would love to have REAP training so they can help their struggling readers. There are schools that desperately need this training but have very limited budgets that can’t stretch to cover the costs of this intensive training. REAP works hard to subsidize the training in these cases, but we need your help to do it.

Not on our mailing list yet? Check out the REAP December 2019 newsletter. Topics: Imagine not being able to read. 28% of Georgia 8th graders still read below a basic level and 68% are not proficient. REAP is working hard to help all children learn to read.

Read the online newsletter at: http://readingisessential.bmeurl.co/9657A86

Not on our mailing list yet? Check out the REAP November 2019 newsletter. Topics: REAP helps prepare preschoolers for learning to read. Thanks to our generous donors & supporters!

Read the online newsletter at: http://readingisessential.bmeurl.co/95D184E

Not on our mailing list yet? Check out the REAP October 2019 newsletter focusing on dyslexia. 15 – 20% of students struggle with reading because of dyslexia. Dyslexic Students need Structured Literacy!

Read the online newsletter at: http://readingisessential.bmeurl.co/936C3A1

Not on our mailing list yet? Check out the REAP September newsletter:

REAP Summer Camp Boosted Reading Skills!

IDA Georgia grant for REAP Advanced Structured Literacy Training

Where’s REAP?

A rundown of where REAP’s team is working this month.

Read the online newsletter at: http://readingisessential.bmeurl.co/9174270

Every summer REAP provides Summer Reading Camps for struggling readers. The camps are a win-win for students and for REAP-trained teachers; the kids get two weeks of supplemental reading instruction while the teachers gain valuable advanced training in Structured Literacy.

The students received explicit, research-based, multisensory reading instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. We assessed the students’ reading abilities before camp and again near the end of camp.

The results?
The students in the kindergarten group showed a statistically significant difference in their ability to read rote memory words. In the first-grade classroom, the students showed statistically significant growth in three areas: whole words read, oral reading fluency, and rote memory word reading.

In other words, the kids showed measurable improvement in their reading abilities after only six days of instruction. The students really enjoyed the camp, and one student even asked for materials to practice at home. The students were happy to be able to read books without having to guess at the words. Teachers and students alike remarked on the improvement in students’ fluency over the course of six days. 

Thank you IDA Georgia! Thanks to a generous grant from IDA Georgia, REAP is providing 160 public school teachers with advanced training in Structured Literacy to better support at-risk students. REAP will provide REAP-trained teachers with extra tools to boost reading skills in economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, and those with dyslexia and other learning challenges. These trained teachers are already making gains with ALL their students and this advanced training will give them even better ways to support at-risk students.

1. Phonological Awareness Workshops
This workshop is valuable for Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers.

2. Word and World Knowledge Vocabulary Modules
All students need explicit vocabulary instruction. It’s absolutely critical that second-language students and economically disadvantaged students get the word and world knowledge necessary to catch up to their peers.

3. Morphology Workshop for 3rd-6th grade teachers
This training is important for teachers in grades 3-6 who are limited in the amount of time they can spend on reading instruction.

Just in time for gift giving, REAP now has its very own shop on CafePress. We have a variety of items in five fun, colorful designs to celebrate our Train | Teach | Read campaign. The shop features something for everybody:

• Mugs, travel mugs and shopping/tote bags
• Shirts for women, men, teens and kids
• Mousepads, magnets and stickers

So buy some cool stuff and support REAP at the same time! The profits from every purchase go to support our teacher training programs.

Visit the REAP Swag Shop: www.cafepress.com/readingisessential