A District's Story
Improving Overall Literacy Skills
Houston, Texas
In April 2008, Houston Independent School District (HISD)* announced an intensive literacy plan, Literacy Leads the Way, to improve overall literacy skills of the district's 200,000 students. As part of the district's plan, "a rigorous training effort will be started in partnership with Neuhaus to create experts in reading instruction throughout the district." From September 2008 to February 2009, 600 teachers, administrators, and district professional development specialists attended a five-day class at Neuhaus or online that introduced the essential components of research-based reading instruction. Lauren Nguyen, HISD elementary language arts manager, coordinated the professional development with Neuhaus Education Center.
"One goal of the 'Literacy Leads the Way' initiative is to build teacher capacity - to provide teachers with the knowledge they need to be able to teach reading successfully. This is where Neuhaus comes in as the national reading experts, right in our own backyard."
Lauren Nguyen, a former English Language Learners (ELL) teacher, goes on to say, "I learned how to teach reading from Neuhaus. I took many classes, such as Scientific Spelling, that are perfect for teaching all students, including ELL students. ELL and bilingual teachers benefit as students understand how the English language works. Neuhaus' professional development allows HISD to have a common knowledge base among all teachers and support staff and helps them all become reading experts who can serve HISD's diverse set of learners."
*Houston Independent School District. (2008) $9-Million Reading Effort Proposed by HISD Superindtendent: $1.25 million also planned for summer program to challenge district's hightest performing students. Retrieved April 3, 2009 from http://www.houstonisd.org.
