Georgia SIG 2004-07 Literacy SIG/SPDG Regional Meeting November 1, 2007

1. Georgia SIG 2004-07 Literacy SIG/SPDG Regional Meeting November 1, 2007

2. Goal: Increased Reading Achievement • Expanded Reading First • Training and support activities for general and special education teachers who teach low incidence (Deaf/HOH,OI, VI, Mod./Severe) • Professional development courses for teachers of students with mild disabilities

3. Results: • Professional Development (Struggling Reader Courses): Increased emphasis on: • providing services to SWD in general education classrooms • cross-training within DOE to better connect TA • developing frameworks for administrators and school teams to use in examining interventions that are research-based

4. Low Incidence • Academy for students with VI • Deaf/HOH diagnostic immersion weekends, development of literacy course and sign language video-book series • OI Reading Academies, onsite visits, collaboration with IHES, website and distribution of Strategies Manual/CD

5. Low Incidence (cont.) • Moderate/Severe improved communication skills, teachers on special assignment produced adapted materials, lessons aligned w/GA Performance Standards • Speech Language fostered collaboration among SLPs and teachers in KG or 3rd grade to target phonemic awareness and vocabulary skills

6. Content Implementation • Piloting • Scaling-up • Parent involvement • Role of: leadership, local team buy-in, factors influencing change

7. Family Engagement research showed to increase literacy in Georgia it would mean including families in after school reading activities; promoting books in the home and making families understand the importance of reading. * SIG participated in activities to train and target parent leaders among the subgroups raising students at risk to build capacity in family engagement! *The National Network of Partnerships, Johns Hopkins and the Family Information Network of Educators, Harvard University

8. SIG Findings on Family Engagement • Families need training to assist in both readiness and reading development of their children • Resistance of participating by some families is not due to lack of interest but lack of reading competency. • Parents can encourage and assist in reading development without being readers themselves • The community working on increasing literacy together is more effective than separately. • Cultural differences, including those caused by poverty, most be considered and addressed.

9. SIG Family Community Partners Working to Increase Achievement • Almost 70 parent leaders in the GA Parent Mentor Partnership • The GA Parent Leadership Coalition, (PLC) started by the GaDOE parent liaison with the assistance of the Southeast Regional Resource System consisting of 12 major education/advocacy groups including the Division for Early Childcare and Learning and the state PTA • 25 community navigation teams led by the PLC

10. Year one of the SIG The GA Parent Mentor Partnership sponsored a day-long symposium in Macon with parent leaders across the state, administrators and parent mentors. More than 200 people attended to learn about Reading First strategies and worked in local teams to come up with sustainable plans to go back to their communities. “Parenting” became a focus of increasing literacy.

11. Family Leaders in partnership with the SIG developed local sustainable activities guided by the National Parent Engagement Standards with 90 percent of those activities targeting reading at every age level, particularly up to 8 years of age. An important component was collaborating with Title I. Parent Mentor Pam Madison from Madison County, north Georgia, shares comments with her Title I coordinator and US Senator Johnnie Isaacson.

12. Parent Mentors found ways to increase student reading by offering opportunities for parents to learn to be a better parents of a reader. This always did not mean the parent could read him or herself. • Parent Meetings at libraries that involved local High School Clubs to work with students while the parent mentor conducted a meeting with families on a popular issue such as behavior strategies or Medicaid waivers. • Participating in book distributioncampaign where free books would go home. • Setting up audio book exchanges with tape recorders so families could listen together and follow along with the book.

13. More Example of Activities by Parent Mentors and other Parent Leaders around Reading 100 Easy Steps to Read: Parent Mentor Holly Markert in Bibb County, an urban community in Mid-Georgia, trained about 8 mothers how to use this hands on book. The mothers worked with their children everyday or as much as possible. Ms. Markert followed up each week and encouraged the parents, many who did not believe they were capable of teaching their children because many did not finish high school. The majority of the students increased test scores the following year. Several of the families moved and did not leave a forwarding address which can be typical among families living in poverty.

14. More Examples….. Increasing a child’s reading can mean encouraging a learning environment in the home , according to Michelle White, a parent mentor in Trion City, a rural community North GA. Ms. White targeted 12 students with disabilities who failed the state achievement test in 2006 and also were Title I eligible and in a Needs Improvement grade school. Launching a parent education program to emphasize the importance of reading and school achievement, the families began encouraging reading at home and setting regular bed times and turning off the television. The parent mentor also partnered with the 12 students’ local child care centers to increase reading activities. The 12 students passed the state achievement test in May, 2007.

15. Another ……. Richmond County Parent Mentor Grace Bagley found both students and parents volunteers at her homework club in an Augusta inner city federal housing development got a lot more interested if books if she read them books about Black History. She also brought in authors and speakers on various aspects of African American Culture to increase the excitement over reading. The local grade school principal gives the parent mentor full credit for getting the school off the AYP list because of the increased test scores of these 40 children.

16. A major part of a child’s education is the “Parenting” Standard C.A.F.E. Circles of Adults Focusing on Education Parent Leaders in the Video Parent leaders assisted the GaDOE to develop a teaching video on the Parent Standards developed by the National Network of Partnership at Johns Hopkins University under the direction of Joyce Epstein, PhD. The main message is for parents to find ways to encourage reading and math after 3 pm.

17. Supplementary Education Services • Parent Mentors found many parents did not do the follow up needed for reading because they too could not read. • They partnered with Title I coordinators across the state to increase tutoring opportunities for eligible students. • It often took visiting homes and explaining one on one to families for the commitment to the tutoring services available.

18. Cultural Needs The SIG targeted a county with 500 students with disabilities who also speak English as a second language. The parent outreach liaison first began English classes for parents and incorporated special education language into the lessons. Parents could not attend the classes unless they agreed to volunteer in the schools. For some, it was the first time to step into a school building. Patricia Davalos, SIG Parent Latino Liaison’s qualitative data showed families understanding the importance of their role in education to be active participants – and not on the side lines.

19. SIG TARGETED FAMILIES WITH SPANISH AS THE FIRST LANGUAGE Finding some parents could not read Spanish as well as English, the SIG pilot in Hall County also included training as reading coaches for the siblings of the Latino students with disabilities in five targeted grade schools on Needs Improvement status. The community provided incentives such as tickets to a local amusement park to the siblings. This activity as well as several other Family SIG pilots in the five schools was put into the system’s Comprehensive Improvement Plan. The SIG activities were part of the improvement plan credited for increasing student achievement among some of the students in this group and decreased absenteeism.The pilots are going statewide in the SPDG.

20. FOCUSED MONITORINGParents on Focused Monitoring Teams assisted educators in understanding the face of literacy in local communities. Parent leaders reminded school systems of the need to increase adult education opportunities in places other than schools where some parents are not comfortable and also with needed supports such as childcare. They also encouraged systems being monitored on reading to think out of the box and find ways to allow these parents to participate without being readers themselves. • Shirley Daniels, Mitchell County Parent Mentor • and Tracy Rogers, Seminal County Parent Mentor assist on teams in monitoring systems similar to their own. They come from two South • Georgia rural systems • with less that • 300 IEPs each and the challenge of escalating • Unemployment, drop out and poverty levels.

21. Ms Davalos, also is member of focused monitoring, and runs focus groups of Spanish speaking parents directed toward achievement of SWD in math and/or reading during the Focused Monitoring process.As a member of the last SIG team, she found Spanish-Speaking parents needed a voice during during Focused Monitoring and other public meetings concerning school issues. She said many of her families would not speak out in public considering it bad manners and needed a different arena. Patricia Davalos, now SPDG state Latino Outreach Liaison

22. Management • Site identification (equitable distribution issues) • Staffing/resource allocation (timely use of funds) • Relationship building

23. Management Specifics • Collaboration with Reading First (had sites chosen plus requirement to do professional learning for all K-12) • Worked through GLRS as they were partners in first SIG • Trained 30 “trainers” (experts in progress monitoring, etc) • Used Texas “Struggling Reader” Materials

24. Specifics (cont.) • Intense collaboration/same mindset/always there • Initial model was one of training not so much support • SIG Staff contact person w/Reading First

25. Once More-Content Implementation • Piloting • Scaling-up • Parent involvement • Role of: leadership, local team buy-in, factors influencing change

26. Evaluation • Continually assessing/frequent meetings with Reading First • Constantly tweaking ( ex. saw need for support in data driven instruction) • SIG gave support to DOE literacy coaches who worked with teachers (increased ownership by literacy coach on data, interventions, etc.)

27. Sustainability • Give it away! • Established partnership with Reading First so that as they built resources SWD included • More acceptance from General Education • Enable the resources! 17 GLRS centers have trainers, materials and support mechanism for schools • Continued networking within DOE and agencies

28. Questions? • What worked for you? • Let me know your successes! Julia Causey Georgia Department of Education 404-657-9954 jcausey@doe.k12.ga.us