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Educators from 15 states get 3-Tier primer at Texas schools
Reading First directors from across the Central Region converged on Austin from Feb. 28 to March 1 to learn from among the most distinguished researchers in their field, but perhaps their greatest lesson came from a bunch of kids.
Directors from the 15 states for which the Central Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center (CRRFTAC) provides technical assistance were whisked away at 7 a.m. Feb. 28 from their quarterly meeting at the Renaissance Austin Hotel to do site visits at area schools. The directors had requested the “field trips” to see the 3-Tier Reading Model in action. They got just that: In addition to observing students’ progress and response to core classroom instruction, the directors were treated to professional Tier II and Tier III interventions by Vaughn Gross Center staff.
The participating schools and teachers:
- Baty Elementary: Debi Cox, Kimberlee Irby, Patti Maksymowicz, Margaret Nanyes, and Kathy Reyna. Tier III intervention with Christi Kirshbaum.
- Hillcrest Elementary: Candace Baumann, Shari Incognito, Marsha Roose, and Deborah Sanders. Tier III intervention with Amber Kim.
- Hornsby-Dunlap Elementary: Norma Archibald, Katie Bettes, Caryn Click, Beth Fisher, Ms. Perez, and Judy Weaver. Tier II intervention with Ricardo Lardizabal.
- Popham Elementary: Theresa Allen and Jaye Montemayor. Tier II intervention with Chris Connelly and Tier III intervention with Juin Liu.
The directors also met with the schools’ principals: Steve Ogle at Baty, Sami Kinsey at Hillcrest, Marylse Summer at Hornsby-Dunlap, and Joyce Bannerot at Popham.
Also among the conference events, attendees participated in a question-and-answer session led by nationally recognized educational consultant Jean Osborn and the Center’s Sharon Vaughn. The planned speaker, Isabel Beck, a University of Pittsburgh professor and senior scientist with its Learning Research and Development Center, could not attend due to illness.
The next Reading First directors meeting will be held June 1 and 2 in Chicago.