MILLIONS GOING TO SCHOOLS LOCAL DISTRICTS RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL GRANTS TO AID READING PROGRAMS.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer LANCASTER -- Three Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley school districts will get more than $2.5 million in grant funding this year from a federal program whose goal is to ensure all children in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. learn to read well by the end of the third grade. This is the third year of funding under the Reading First program for Lancaster, Palmdale, and Wilsona school districts, which spend the money on teacher coaches, materials and supplies, and training. ``We love the program. It's made a big difference for our kids. We wish we could do it at more schools,'' said Diane Parkins, Lancaster's director of special programs. Funding is based on the number of teachers who are teaching in kindergarten through grade three at schools in the Reading First program. Schools are eligible based on student poverty rates and low-achieving reading scores. Lancaster is receiving $1.2 million, Palmdale $1.04 million, and Wilsona $279,500. At the Palmdale district, nine schools are in the program: Chaparral, Golden Poppy golden poppy of California. [Flower Symbolism: Golenpaul, 627] See : Flower, State , Los Amigos AMIGOS Advanced Mobile Integration in General Operating Systems , Manzanita manzanita: see bearberry. , Palm Tree, Tamarisk tamarisk (tăm`ərĭsk), shrub or small tree of the genus Tamarix, native chiefly to the Mediterranean area and to central Asia. The plants are often heathlike and thrive in arid and coastal regions. , Tumbleweed tumbleweed, any of several plants, particularly abundant in prairie and steppe regions, that commonly break from their roots at maturity and, drying into a rounded tangle of light, stiff branches, roll before the wind, covering long distances and scattering seed as , Summerwind, and Yucca schools. The grant money is used to pay for Reading First coaches, who help teachers with language arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. instruction, training for the coaches, and supplementary materials. ``These are individuals who have a background in reading and language arts. Their main job is to support and assist kindergarten-through-third grade teachers to fully implement the district's adopted language arts series,'' said Betty Stiers, Palmdale's assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for educational services. At the Lancaster district, six schools are part of the program: Sierra, Joshua, Lincoln, El Dorado El Dorado, legendary country of South America El Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. , Mariposa, and Desert View. The grant money is used to pay for one coach at each campus, for half-day substitutes to allow teachers to meet and discuss teaching strategies, and supplies. ``We do a lot of data analysis. We look at test scores on those children (at the six schools). Those children are starting to close the gap and are starting to achieve,'' Parkins said. Stiers said students at the nine Palmdale school are also showing improvement on standardized testing. ``Coaches are a big key in the success. They provide support and assistance to teachers in a variety of ways,'' Stiers said. ``They do demonstration lessons, onsite training. They do classroom observation and provide feedback to teachers. They facilitate grade-level meetings as the teachers look at data to determine where the strengths and weaknesses are and what the next steps would be,'' Stiers said. Wilsona uses the funds to pay for staff development and part of the salaries for two coaches, one for each of the two elementary schools, Vista San Gabriel and Wilsona. ``As our children are moving through the program, they are gaining in their abilities and language arts skills,'' said Terri Grey, Wilsona's Reading First coordinator. ``We apply the principles and methodologies to the fourth and fifth grades, and the middle school is commenting that they are noticing an improvement in reading skills in the students.'' Under California's Reading First plan, the state provides subgrants to school districts to implement the state-adopted reading program in kindergarten through grade three and supply intensive professional development to teachers. Special education teachers in grades kindergarten through grade 12 are also invited to participate in the professional development. Reading First program funding comes from the federal No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly known as NCLB (IPA: /ˈnɪkəlbiː/), is a United States federal law that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 . ``The ability to read is the gateway to learning,'' state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said. ``As we continue to challenge students in California to learn at high levels, it is vital they develop reading skills early in life to meet the challenge.'' karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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