Reading grant approved; targets older learners
RCS teams with University of Albany in study

Approximately 10 fourth grade students in RCS who have difficulty reading are receiving extra assistance this school year while at the same time helping college educators hone their understanding of how to help older students who struggle to read.

The Board of Education unanimously approved recently acceptance of $50,000 in aid from the University of Albany and agreed to take part in the Research Project for Older Struggling Readers being conducted by the college.

The funds will pay for a full-time teacher.

As a result of the grant, 10 students in Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School students – special education students who scored poorly on state assessments last year and who have been identified for additional reading instruction – are receiving one-on-one remedial reading assistance this year through a federal grant secured by the University at Albany.

College professors and researchers started last month providing intensive training to PBC Teacher Kelly McGillycuddy on the reading program, Interactive Strategies Approach. The program is designed to improve the reading abilities of older struggling readers, said Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Diane Albano, Ed.D.

Using the new training, McGillycuddy is working with the students, providing intensive intervention that is expected to lead to large gains in their abilities, Albano said.

Members of the University at Albany’s research teams will monitor the student’s testing results.

The program is scheduled to continue for three years and expand into the seventh grade in the 2008-09 school year.