June and July 2006
Uniontown Area School District

June and July have been months of great progress for our Pitt/Uniontown MP3 team. In early, summer, we spent a few weeks observing rich literacy and engaging oral language activities in four Head Start classrooms. Our June IGDI assessments weren't as productive as we had hoped because many of the students withdrew early for summer vacation. We look forward to assessing the remaining children at the August 9th UASD kindergarten screening and spending more time learning from and collaborating with the Head Start staff when they resume classes in the Fall.

We kicked off our summer professional development plans with a full-day workship designed by Ann and her colleagues at PaTTAN. 18 teachers from Ben Franklin, Menallen, and Lafayette elementary schools joined Eileen, Kathy, and myself at the Pittsburgh PaTTAN complex to participate in the workshop "A Blueprint for Literacy in Diverse Classrooms." Ann led us through a variety of engaging activities and eye-opening discussions around effective research-based literacy instruction and the "5 Big Ideas" of reading. What an energetic, knowledgeable group of teachers! It was a pleasure to spend th eday learning together.

As the remaining days of June quickly slipped by, focus turned to our upcoming results meeting with Dr. Machesky on July 6th. After reviewing the data, Dr. Zigmond, Dr. Machesky, and MP3 staff discussed the need for immediate intervention to better support studrents' reading achievement in grades 1-4 in Lafayette school. Dr. Machesky tackled the isssue with conviction and openly embraced suggestions for changes to the current reading program in an effort to make data-driven decisions to increase students' success with reading. The meeting resulted in identifying key tasks for our Project work sessions during PaTTAN's summer conference at Penn State: Making Adequate Yearly Progress: Improving Student Achievement Through Effective Practices.

While at Penn State, Dr. Machesky, Mrs. Machesky, Mres. Work. Mrs. Defino, Mr. Hutchinson, and the Pitt MP3 team worked before, during, and after conference sessions throughout the week to solidify plans for implementing the proposed progress monitoring model in Lafayette this Fall. Discussion and action points included:
1) Adopting Harcourt Trophies as a core readdcing program in grades 1-4
2) Effectively using Guided Reading to support and extend students' skills.
3) Structuring and scheduling reading instructional time to maximize personnel expertise, grade-level teaming, and time-on-task learning.
4) Providing training on effective cooperative learning, grouping, and behavior management strategies.
5) Designating a literacy coach to collaborate with classroom and special education teachers to provide high-quality research-based reading instruction to all students.

We also restructured our professional development plans for the rest of the summer to provide focused trainings and workshops for teachers immediately prior to the start of school during the last week of August rather than peppered throughout July and August. That way, full-faculty attendance and participation is more likely so that we can be sure that the Lafayette team is well supported to get the model off and running for the 2006-2007 school year.

Phew! What a busy summer so far! Amid all of the planning sessions, meetings, phone calls, and conferences, we were impressed and energized by the passion, vision, and commitment of the administrators, principals, and teachers working with us on this project. We have learned a great deal from both their individual and collective expertise and experience. Learning with such a passionate group of professionals who are committed to sustaining positive school change is a true pleasure.

August has much in store for us that we look forward to sharing next month----see you then!

Amanda Kloo - Project Coordinator, University of Pittsburgh

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