Leading to Improve Student Success

As a reading/literacy specialist, you are both a leader and a resource for the general education teachers with whom you collaborate. They look to you to provide guidance and clear communication about key aspects of reading instruction, intervention, and remediation, to advocate for policies and practices that support student needs, and to direct reading improvement initiatives. Allocate at least 2 hours in the field to support this field experience. NOTE: Only time spent interacting with students or collaborating with your mentor or others in the field is considered practicum hours. You may not count time spent completing assignment deliverables as practicum hours. Part 1: Supporting Reading Improvement With your mentor, complete the following: Research the current reading requirements for promotion for your state and any exemptions the state offers for meeting established milestones. (WASHINGTON STATE) Research the district and school policies that support these requirements. Identify specific district and schoolwide initiatives that have been implemented to help students meet the promotion requirements and discuss whether they have been effective in meeting this goal based on data that has been collected to date. Research age-appropriate strategies, digital tools and applications, and other supports you can suggest to general education teachers to help them support students in meeting the reading promotion requirements. Using all of the information from your research, create a 1-2 page informational digital deliverable to share with general education teachers that address the following: Summarize the state reading requirements and provide examples of exemptions to the requirement. Summarize the district and school policies associated with reading promotion. Describe current district and school initiatives that are in place to support students in meeting reading promotion requirements. Include a discussion of program effectiveness/results based on any available data. Recommend 8-10 developmentally appropriate research-based strategies, digital tools and applications, or other supports that general education teachers can use to improve student reading performance and support students in meeting reading promotion requirements. Document the research references at the bottom of the deliverable. Part 2: Communicating Strategies and Support Write a 250-word email for general education teachers to accompany the informational deliverable. Describe the purpose of the deliverable and specific ways you will support teacher efforts to help students meet reading promotion requirements. Include a discussion about specific resources, training, and classroom support that you can provide as the reading/literacy specialist. Share the deliverable with your mentor to get feedback about its content and make necessary updates to the deliverable. Use any remaining field experience hours to provide support or assistance to the class as directed by your mentor. Part 3: Reflection Reflect on the role of the reading/literacy specialist as a leader in 250 words by addressing the following: Consider the three key aspects of leadership, modeling, connecting, and involving, and provide examples of how you can do each of these as a reading/literacy specialist. Identify three key skills you want to continue to improve upon as a leader and discuss a specific action step or strategy you can use to improve each skill.