In August, NEF funded a literacy pilot which included training and support in structured literacy for all K and 1st grade teachers at two Newton County Schools.
The funds cover the cost for literacy experts from REAP, Reading is Fundamental for all People, to provide ten days of engaging professional development and we are already seeing the results. The teachers have done half of the training days and recently had a support visit from Elizabeth Hogan, one of the amazing REAP trainers. Here is what she shared with them after her visit.
“WOW! What an amazing visit I had yesterday in Kindergarten and first grade classes at South Salem! I saw SO much good teaching and learning – I took over 25 pictures! Thanks for welcoming me into your classrooms and if I missed your room this time, I promise I’ll be back soon!
I saw great phonemic awareness activities, deck drills, engaging dictation and impressive small group work. In many of your rooms, if I didn’t know you from training, I wouldn’t have known who the teacher was! Y’all have done such a fabulous job of training your co-teachers and paraprofessionals! It was obvious that you’ve taken the learning from training and adjusted it to make sense in your own classrooms with your unique students.”
We are so grateful to the principals at our pilot schools, Vanshelle Turner at South Salem Elementary and Teresa Sauls at East Newton Elementary and for the dedication and enthusiasm of their teachers.
Donations made to Newton Education Foundation support initiatives that help our students strengthen their reading skills. Please consider a donation, in any amount, at newtoneducationfoundation.org/donate or check out our business sponsorships at newtoneducationfoundation.org/business