Aug. 11, 2005 – Dr. Emily Carter, acting insular superintendent of schools for the St. Thomas-St. John District, announced that public school teachers and administrators are invited to attend the annual Summer Reading Institute titled, "Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap" from Aug. 15 through 19, at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort.
It is a joint effort of the V.I. Department of Education and partners at Harcourt and the Education Alliance at Brown University. According to a press release from the department, the week-long professional development program is geared to preparing its participants for completion of literacy requirements for reading improvement during the 2005-2006 school year.
Patricia Nathan, district director for Curriculum, Assessment and Technology (CAT), who also serves as the organizer of the Institute, said, "The institute will feature presenters who will focus on tools and strategies for helping teachers to teach every student how to improve reading skills. Literacy is critical to the academic performance of students in every area. Therefore, we want every student, including special education and our English language learners, to achieve academic success.
"This institute is part of the follow-up training previously provided to elementary teachers. The presenters will identify intervention tools and assessments embedded in the Trophies Core K-6 Grades Reading Program that was adopted last August," Nathan added. "Additionally, the participants will look at ways to improve reading instruction by reviewing the newly adopted reading standards and revising the reading curriculum to better reflect the new standards for each grade level."
Registration for the Institute takes place from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. daily. Presentations begin promptly at 9 a.m.
The Schedule for the Weeklong Trainings Are as Follows:
Acting Insular Superintendent Emily Carter, Ed.D. will present "Overview of Literacy Challenges: The St. Thomas-St. John School District Perspective." On Monday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Senior Director of Urban Affairs Harcourt School Publishers Ivory Benton will make three presentations: (1) "Trophies Core Reading Program: The Interventions" on Monday, Aug. 15, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
(2) "Trophies Core Reading Program: The Interventions" on Tuesday, Aug. 16, from 9 a.m. to noon and again on Tuesday Aug. 16, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.,
Gerald Lindahl, Ph.D. of Harcourt Assessments will make four presentations:
(1)"Assessment Data Interpretation: What is the Data Telling Us?" on Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon.
(2) "Challenges with Literacy in the St. Thomas-St. John School District" on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon.
(3) "Trophies Core Reading Program: The Interventions" on both Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 18, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Mary Kelley from the Education Alliance at Brown University will speak on "Challenges with Literacy in the St. Thomas-St. John School District" on Friday, Aug. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Marilyn Brown, consultant, will speak on "Trophies Core Reading Program: The Interventions" on Friday, Aug. 19, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, contact Ms. Nathan at 775-2250.
