Grosse Pointe School Board to Consider Pilot Course for Reading, Writing

The Board will consider the addition of a pilot course at for the 2012/2013 school year that aims to strengthen weak reading and writing skills among freshman.

The course, which has been named Strategies for Reading and Writing, was introduced to the board Monday by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Monique Beels. The board will vote on the course next month.

It aims to give those incoming freshman who are not the lowest but still low test scorerers on the NWEA to provide the added focus in the areas of reading and writing as they enter high school. Developing their reading and writing skills are important for their overall success in high school and beyond, Beels said.

The class is designed for students whose NWEA test results fall within the 25 to 50 percentile range. South Prinicipal Matt Outlaw said the course aims to enhance the skill level that is already present. His example was the ability to comprehend reading passages beyond the word-level recognition. A student might be able to easily read the passages but not understand the meaning or point of it, he said.

Students would focus on:

• reading and comprehension
• writing clear and grammatically correct sentences
• understanding meaning
• critical thinking
• inquiry and research

The course would use the following books:

• Slam by Walter Dean Myers
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The course is somewhat similar to the Freshman Assist class currently offered at both high schools. The Freshman Assist class is for those students who rank between zero to 24 percentile on the NWEA and aims to provide those students with the correct support to ensure a successful high school career.

Outlaw said the suggested pilot course is the first of its kind to target students who are not necessarily the lowest scorers but still need the focused attention. He believes ultimately by offering the course, it will lead to higher scores on  standardized testing, such as the MME.

Beels and Outlaw both said the the skills obtained in the course will translate well to other core subjects and sets the student up for a higher level of academic success in both high school and beyond.

The idea for the course came from teachers in South's English Department, Outlaw said, identifying Taryn Loughlin and Jodi Stevens. Loughlin is an English teacher and Stevens is a reading specialist who also teaches the Freshman Assist class. The Department chair, Harry Campion, helped the idea progress to the school board for consideration, Outlaw said.

Currently South has 67 students who would be classified as meeting the requirements for the course, he said.

If the course is successful at South, Beels told the board, it would likely be implemented at North as well.