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Goal

My goal is to provide professional development to teachers in Grades K-2 centered around the Science of Reading. Florida adopted the current B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts based on decades of research that asks teachers to shift their pedagogical thinking/training to embrace these research findings. There is legislation that prohibits our teachers from using strategies that they have used to teach children for their entire careers. This professional development opportunity will help teachers make the transition that the State of Florida is envisioning. 

What will be done with my students

I am the Literacy Coach of Laurel Oak Elementary School, the largest elementary school in Collier County. Many of our teachers, including myself, are veteran teachers who were trained to teach literacy using a whole language approach known as Balanced Literacy. Educators Jan Burkins and Kari Yates wrote and published a book called Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom. The book defines each shift, gives details about the misconception, summarizes the research, offers suggestions on how to make the paradigm shift, and lists a series of reflective questions that we can ask ourselves about our practice. As I began developing this 6 part series centered around each shift that is presented by the authors of this book, I thought about how much more effective this would be if each teacher had the book in their hands. Each session will use a five step process of Professional Learning Communities where each session will have clearly defined goals centered around each shift. Next, our current practices will be explored, Then, the research will be explained and an experiment with newly learned content will be planned. Finally, there will be reflection and implementation in their classrooms before the next session that dives into the next shift. Following the initial session, a debriefing portion will begin each of the remaining sessions to share the implementation experience. In short, the five steps of the Professional Learning Community are: Debrief, Define Session Goals, Explore Current Practice, Experiment with Newly Learned Ideas, and Reflect/Implement. This format aligns with a Reading Endorsement Pathway offered through a collaborative effort with Florida State University, Florida Center for Reading Research and the Florida Department of Education. Teachers can use these strategies for years to come as they practice implementing them with each new group of students that come every year.  

Benefits to my students

The shifts described in the book not only give the background information to teachers to help them understand the science and research behind the change, but provide practical application ideas that can be implemented after reading the text. Once these ideas are put into practice by our teachers, they have the potential to impact our Grade K-2 student population which at the time of this writing is approximately 600 students per year. It is my hope that they become as interested in the material as I was to finish the book long before the next presentation. Our school community would have a common language that will allow students to progress through each grade level with teachers using the same discourse. Our school district has taken the initiative to adopt a systematic phonics program that happens to align with half of the six shifts explained in the book. We would be providing supplemental professional development in our building to enhance this initiative in CCPS. In addition, the content covered in the book meets several of the criteria that would allow teachers to receive site-based Master Inservice Points for Developmental Literacy, a new requirement for the renewal of our teaching certificates every five years.  

Budget Narrative

With the grant, 35 books will be purchased. We have 33 classroom teachers in grades K-2 and two ESE Inclusion teachers who directly support those grade levels. Each book is $32.50 for a total of $1137.50. 

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