WHY DO WE NEED READING CHAMPS (RC) COACHES?

Think about this!

    This is a uncomfortable fact. Literacy is in a crisis condition in the United States. We are at a crossroads. Teachers are working harder than ever, and while test scores are improving there is still a long way to go. Many students don't want to read. As a result they do not read well, or don't read at all. By third grade, all students are supposed to be nearly fluent, automatic readers. But they are not.

      While recent national reading scores are somewhat improved, state-by-state test results are still poor. Here is what has been reported about the "reading crisis." How do you feel about these statistics?

• At 4th, 8th, and 12th grades, most students are reading below level.
• Only 1/3 of 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students are at a proficient reading level.
• In many classrooms, only one in five students can read at a basic level.
• 30% of 8th graders, and 40% of 4th graders have problems reading.
• Females outscore males on 4th, 8th, and 12th grade reading tests.
• Less than half of the 8th and 12th graders read a total of 11 or more pages a day, [an average of 2200 words of "standard" type] both in and out of school.

     Even the best readers in American classrooms have a capability of reading better. Reading Champs (RC) Coaches learn how to turn students on to reading, help students learn how to accelerate their skills and catch up with classmates rapidly. Coaches realize there is not a moment to lose.

      From the Ready ... Set ... TEACH! RC Coach program, program administrators teachers discover they can help anyone--from parent to advanced teacher--sharpen and enliven their skills, and captivate their students. They can turn one or two emerging student(s), or an entire classroom, into truly engaged readers! Everything in the RC program is classroom-tested and ready to go. Coaches soon learn that the RC Common Sense Mini Lessons (CSML) mini-lessons, drills, shortcuts, and interventions really work.

For many years, throughout ongoing reading wars, teachers and researchers have discovered "best practices." But today, the gap still remains between the reasearch and actual implementation. It seems to us that the transfer from theory to practice is the missing link in education. Rita has taught reading lessons in over 600 classroom and uncounted teacher training and teacher in-service programs; but that is not enough. She is eager to share her favorite strategies with RC coaches.

Regardless of your current methods or materials, RC strategies will help fill in the gaps--close the cracks in the floor through which so many of our children slip every year--by using teaching-reading fundamentals throughout the continuum. It is true!

You can overcome "the odds" that so many nay-sayers are quoting and turn your struggling readers into Reading Champions.

Finally, you can help your students meet, and even exceed, state standards!