WIBIDA and Wisconsin Public Radio

     Mary Newton, founder of the Wisconsin Reading Coalition(www.wisconsinreadingcoalition.org) and member of the Wisconsin Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (WIBIDA) along with WIBIDA President, Cheryl Ward   will join Gene Purcell this Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 5 pm when he fills in as host of Ben Merens program, At Issue on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).

     Mary and Cheryl, both certified Academic Language Teachers, will discuss improving reading instruction and outcomes in Wisconsin and the grassroots and legislative efforts that are growing to address low literacy outcomes in Wisconsin. 

     They will talk about the events planned in Madison to introduce veteran educator, reading consultant and trainer Sally Grimes of Massachusetts.  On Sunday, March 14th, at 1:00 P.M. at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street,  Sally will speak to the public followed by the official kickoff of the new grassroots Wisconsin Reading Coalition. At noon on Tuesday, March 16th  Sally will be giving a presentation for legislators in the Capitol rotunda at noon. Events are free and open to all.

     Listen and join in the discussion Thursday at 5pm by tuning into WPR on your radio. Find your local station at wpr.org or listen on the web at wpr.org, click LISTEN TO WPR LIVE ONLINE.

To View WIBIDA's March 2010 newsletter, click on the link on the main menu.

Tutor Referral List
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The WIBIDA Information and Referral Committee will post your information pending board approval.

Free Sally Grimes Event – March 14th:

As Wisconsin works to improve reading instruction for all students, we're fortunate to have the help of Sally Grimes. Grimes was one of the experts responsible for the ongoing reform in Massachusetts, and through the Grimes Reading Institute she's helped provide much of the training and instruction that has helped lift Massachusetts to the top.  Grimes will be in Wisconsin offering advice about what has worked elsewhere. She will offer a free, public presentation on Sunday, March 14th, from 1-4, at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., in Madison.  Grimes will speak to the five components of reading, why students struggle, the fact that most reading failure is avoidable, and the common roadblocks to actually employing best practices in reading instruction.  Everyone who cares about reading and education in Wisconsin is invited to come learn about how we can improve the future for all our children. 
 
After the presentation, participants will have a chance to hear about the new Wisconsin Reading Coalition (described below), a grassroots organization formed to influence and ignite the process of reading reform in Wisconsin through organization, advocacy and the power of concerned individuals and groups working together toward a common goal.

When: Sunday, March 14, 2010; 1:00-4:00 p.m.   Free and open to the public
Where: UW-Madison’s Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison 53706

Sally Grimes, Founding Director of the Grimes Reading Institute Presents
The Cliff’s Notes to Reading Instruction:  What We Know and What We Teach Why Are These Usually So Different?

The Cliff’s Notes to Reading Instruction:
•Most Reading Failure is Unnecessary
•The Five Components of Reading
•Why Do Students Struggle?
•Some Common Roadblocks to Best Practices

Most Reading Failure is Unnecessary
We now know how to teach reading successfully to the vast majority of children, and we have instructional methods that help remediate the 2-5% of children with the most profound reading disabilities, yet we are not doing it. Why?

The Five Components of Reading Interact in the Brain As We Read
Advances in the study of cognitive neuroscience, language development, genetics, eye movements, and educational interventions over the past 35 years have altered how we view reading instruction.  Hear a brief overview of the research.

Why Do Students Struggle? 
Both external and internal factors may contribute to a student’s reading struggles. Externally, an environment with lack of early language experience and/or inadequate instruction affects many students. Internally, between 10 and 20% of students have neurologic wiring or genetic makeup that makes reading difficult.

Some Common Roadblocks to Implementing Best Practice
Multiple circumstances are preventing us from utilizing best practices in reading instruction, including inadequate and incomplete pre-service and in-service teacher training, inadequate leadership at various levels, inadequate knowledge and understanding of the complexity of the problem, funding streams that dictate instruction, and the “silo effect.”

Over the past decade, as more Massachusetts students have moved into the ranks of proficient and advanced readers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Bay State has solidified a #1 ranking on the “nation’s report card.”  Sally Grimes, founding director of the Grimes Reading Institute in Rockport, Massachusetts, has played a key role by building capacity among educators to deliver scientifically-based reading instruction.  Sally will share her insights from Massachusetts and suggest how that success can be replicated.  Following Sally’s talk, Wisconsin Reading Coalition, with guests Rep. Keith Ripp and author/former principal Anthony Pedriana, will present information on networking for change in Wisconsin.

Biography of Sally Grimes

Sally has served in a variety of positions in her 37 years in the fields of Reading and Learning Disabilities. She has taught at levels ranging from Head Start to Graduate School, performed educational evaluations at North Shore Children’s Hospital, served as an Extension Volunteer for a year with migrant workers in Texas, served as Landmark School’s first Admissions Director and as the Assistant Director of its Outreach Program.

Sally provides professional development and consultation in the area of Reading to thousands of teachers and administrators assisting schools, foundations, and other entities with literacy initiatives. These include The Ennis William Cosby Foundation, The Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association, The Massachusetts Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, among others. She is a frequent speaker at a host of conferences, parents’ groups and civic organizations.  She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Boston College, Fitchburg State College, Lesley University and Salem State College, often teaching courses that she conceived and wrote in the area of Reading.

Sally served as one of three Lead Trainers in Massachusetts for the Reading First Grant under No Child Left Behind.  Additionally, the Grimes Reading Institute in Rockport, Massachusetts, of which Sally is the Founding Director, was one of three entities awarded the grant designated to design and execute the professional development component of this Grant.  Sally provides professional development for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.

Sally’s interest in public policy and public awareness has led to work in the production of and participation in media presentations as well as in the creation of several published articles.  Other past activities include serving on the Rockport School Committee, on the Executive Board of the National Council for Exceptional Children, and as an appointed member of both the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on School Readiness and the Content Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure. Sally also assisted in the design, training, and delivery of content for the Bay State Readers Grant Program, run by the Massachusetts Department of Education and also the Bay State Reading Institute under the leadership of Barbara Gardner, past Associate Commissioner of Education.

Sally received her Master’s Degree in Reading and Human Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her Bachelor’s Degree from University of Illinois at Chicago.

Invitation from Wisconsin Reading Coalition

A new grassroots movement, the Wisconsin Reading Coalition, invites you to join as a member. The coalition will operate as a networking vehicle and information clearinghouse for the many organizations and individuals in Wisconsin who are committed to bringing scientifically-based reading instruction and intervention to all students statewide. The coalition has no dues and does not plan to incorporate or have any other formal structure. Most of the legwork is being done by a core group of about 10 volunteers.

The impetus for forming this group is to accomplish improvements in reading instruction at the state level for all types of readers, from gifted to struggling. The coalition is working for:
•    Better state standards for beginning reading
•    Universal early screening for dyslexia
•    Pre-service and in-service training for teachers in the science of reading acquisition
•    A rigorous examination in foundations of reading for teacher licensure
•    Use of scientifically-based core programs and interventions in schools.

Several volunteers have been involved in this effort for the past year under the auspices of the governmental affairs committee of WIBIDA, and have been meeting with representatives from DPI, WEAC, colleges of education, the Governor's office and the state legislature, as well as people from other states who are involved in similar efforts. The coalition believes that in order to move beyond the status quo at the state level, government and public officials will need to hear from a lot more of their constituents to counterbalance the lobbying from special interests.

After discussions with a group in Minnesota that led that state's recent successful reform efforts, the coalition took their advice to make this a broad grassroots movement for reading improvement rather than one that was focused only on students with dyslexia.

The Wisconsin Reading Coalition intends their main presence in the state to be an informational website (almost finished) with e-alerts, awareness events in various communities, and organized effective participation in statewide efforts for reading reform. The coalition will keep its members informed of its activities, and hopes that members will jump in to help with projects they support. It is anticipated that most of the coalition’s activities, such as contacting legislators, commenting on proposed DPI rules, holding rallies and informational sessions, etc., will involve expenditures of time rather than money.

Following the Sally Grimes event (listed above) on March 14th, you will be able to pick up information, ask questions and give personal testimony during the Wisconsin Reading Coalition Kick-off, with special guests Rep. Keith Ripp and Anthony Pedriana, former MPS principal and author of Leaving Johnny Behind.

If you want to be part of the movement for reading reform, please send an email to wisconsinreadingcoalition@gmail.com or visit the website at http://wisconsinreadingcoalition.org/ to sign up for e-alerts. Thank you for your consideration! 

Notice of Public Hearing

WIBIDA'S Newsletter - March 2010

IDENTIFICATION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES

Please see Calendar/Events section of this home page for dates and locations.

Please see the Documents link on the main menu to view the complete document:  

Notice is hereby given  That pursuant to ss. 115.762 (3) (a) and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., and interpreting ss. 115.76 (5) (a) 10. and (b) and 115.78 (1m), Stats., the Department of Public Instruction will hold public hearings as follows to consider proposed permanent rules amending s. PI 11.36 (6), relating to the identification of children with specific learning disabilities. 
  

The administrative rule and fiscal note are available on the internet at http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/rulespg.html. A copy of the proposed rule and the fiscal estimate also may be obtained by sending an email request to lori.slauson@dpi.wi.gov or by writing to:

Lori Slauson, Administrative Rules and Federal Grants Coordinator

Department of Public Instruction

125 South Webster Street