HEB ISD School & Family Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 9

HEB ISD Collaborates with United Way and Area Districts to Create the Lone Star Literacy Institute Submitted by K-5 Coordinator of Language Arts LaDonna Schwobel “GREAT WORKSHOP! It helped put all the pieces together. We have a plethora of information to utilize and I loved learning the structure of mini lesson and workshop model as a student and teacher,” enthused a participant of the Lone Star Literacy Institute. Independent reading is the single biggest predictor of student literacy success (Krashen, 2004). HEB ISD, in collaboration with seven area school districts, the Educational Service Center Region 11, and the United Way have partnered to provide training to our educators. The purpose of the institute is to increase the number of students reading on grade level and maximize teacher knowledge about the foundational components of literacy. In addition to onsite professional development, the institute provides for ongoing support in the form of on-line webinars and instructional coaching. On August 16 th and 18 th , approximately 100 kindergarten through third grade teachers from the HEB independent school district received intensive instruction on the five pillars of literacy instruction: • Comprehension • Fluency • Listening/speaking/responding • Phonics/phonemic awareness/vocabulary/word study Teachers participated in an immersion exercise in which they focused on a literacy block based on the researched fundamentals of literacy. They learned to create classroom structures that support student independence and maximize time-in-text. HEB ISD board member and United Way staff Dr. Faye Beaulieu commented on how engaged and responsive the teachers were during the training. “One kinder teacher came up to thank me, and I could see how plans were coming together for her as to how to implement what she was hearing. It was clear to see that participants found the instruction useful!” By role-playing as students, teachers learned in-depth literacy content and mastered the structure and pacing of reading and writing workshop blocks. One participant shared, “I loved how much we got to interact with both each other and the information.” To learn more about the Lone Star Literacy Institute, visit: https://unitedwaytarrant.org/literacy-institute-helps- teachers-and-students-shine/ 7