To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Eric J. Becoats, Ed.D.
Sharon S. Ozment

Date:

July 7, 2008

RE:

Intervention for Non-Proficient Readers in Middle School (Read 180)

It is the district thematic goal for all students to be reading on grade level by the end of third grade.  Currently, we have over 2,100 students at the middle school level who were not proficient on the 2006-07 EOGs in reading.  To ensure that all students are reading on grade level prior to entering high school, an adolescent literacy committee reviewed several reading intervention programs and recommended the research-based Read 180 program.

Read 180 will provide the district a research-based reading intervention program for middle school students over a three-year period (see attached for projected costs).  This cost projection includes instructional materials for all middle school students, implementation and evaluation of the program, two on-site support teacher visits per year, on-site facilitator training, four half-day seminars for GCS reading intervention teachers per year, leadership training for new administrators, and technical support/services for all servers.  Scholastic, the Read 180 provider, has agreed for payment of instructional materials to be divided over a two-year period.

RECOMMENDATION:  It is the recommendation of the administration that the Board of Education approve Read 180 as a reading intervention program for the district’s middle school students.

Attachment - Projected Cost