A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

"Teaching Reading:
Success Stories from School & Home"

Tuesday, February 16, 1999 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. (PT), 8:00-9:00 p.m. (ET)
(Live from Los Angeles, California)

New research shows that there are many ways that schools, communities and families can help children to learn read well. Teachers can adjust instruction for students' individual learning styles. Principals can encourage reading in classrooms across the curriculum and support quality teaching. Parents can reinforce and extend the reading instruction that children receive in school, and librarians and other concerned individuals in local communities can help provide tutors, mentors and reading partners.

Live from Los Angeles, California, the Satellite Town Meeting will explore ways that schools and communities are making the teaching of reading a priority. Among the discussion topics will be ways to prepare teachers to teach reading, including providing additional support and training from reading experts and professional development programs. The Town Meeting will also look at how parents can reinforce key skills while making reading fun and exciting at home, and how communities can support the learning of reading. U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and guests will discuss:

• What works in reading instruction for diverse learning styles in the same classroom?
• How can teachers incorporate successful research-based methods of teaching and best practices in their classrooms?
• What kinds of professional development and support do teachers need from principals, colleges and the community?
• What role do parents play in teaching reading at home?
• How can the community support and encourage learning reading?

The February Town Meeting Guests are:

• Dr. Johnny Brown is Superintendent of the Birmingham Public Schools in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Brown is deeply committed to reading and encourages every person in the district to contribute daily towards student reading achievement. The district recently received a $50,000 grant from SERV's (Southeastern Regional Vision for Education) America Reads Challenge Grant to establish an education support team for 300 volunteer tutors that enhances, fosters, and promotes children?s literacy at 10 elementary schools in the district.

• Ms. Linda Dale is a Reading Specialist at Twin Lakes Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a classroom teacher in one of the fastest growing school districts in the country, Ms. Dale is faced with a variety of challenges daily in teaching children how to read. With lessons designed to suit each student?s individual needs, Ms. Dale provides one-on-one or small group lessons for at risk first- and second- graders. Her program, PROJECT LIFE (Literacy Intervention for Excellence), provides early intervention for primary students having difficulty with reading throughout the Clark County Public Schools.

• Dr. Claude Goldenberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at California State University at Long Beach. He served as an advisor to the National Research Council's 1998 landmark report, "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children," which calls for an end to the "reading wars" and for specific actions, from early childhood through elementary school, to boost reading achievement.

• Mrs. Nancy Mireles is a parent and the past-president and a current board member of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Chula Vista Hills Elementary School in Chula Vista, California. Mrs. Mireles is an active parent-leader committed to assuring all children in the community have the help they need to learn how to read. She volunteers for "Roaming Readers," a daily program that invites adults from the community to come into the school and read with students. Mrs. Mireles has two daughters: Kristina, age 10, and Gabriella, age 9.

• Mr. Mark H. Willes, Publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Times Mirror. The Los Angeles Times is engaged in a five-year initiative, called "Reading by 9," that seeks to help children achieve grade-level reading skills by the time they reach the age of nine. The project features extensive editorial coverage focusing attention on the problem of child illiteracy and possible solutions. The community portion of the program includes partnerships with organizations from the public and private sector, and emphasizes measurable results.

To participate, all you need is to locate a facility with satellite downlink capabilities. Or, call your local cable access station or school board channel and give them the satellite coordinates:

C-Band: GE2, Channel/Transponder 24, Orbital Location: 85 degrees West, Horizontal Polarity, Downlink Frequency 4180 mHz, Audio 6.2 (Spanish) and 6.8 (English)

KU-Band: Galaxy 3, Channel/Transponder 12, Orbital Location: 95 degrees West, Downlink Frequency 11930 mHz, Horizontal Polarity, Audio 6.2 (Spanish) and 6.8 (English)

To view the Satellite Town Meeting live via the Internet visit: quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/stm/index.html

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