In October 2021, PC READS invited Elizabeth Hamblet to Park City to give two presentations on college planning for students with IEPs and 504 Plans. As the author of From High School to College: Steps to Success for Students with Disabilities, Elizabeth’s knowledge is extensive and PC READS was grateful for the opportunity to host her in-person.. The topic of Elizabeth’s first presentation, which was focused on families, was Why They Change and What is Commonly Available (Or Not). The Park City High School Lecture Hall was full of students from grades 9-12 and their parents, who greatly appreciated her expert advice. The following day, professionals and educators joined Elizabeth for a virtual presentation (hosted from Park City) on Educational Evaluations: How to Make Reports More Helpful for Students Headed to College. Visit her website, ldadvisory.com, to learn more.
News & Articles
PC Reads serves up a live Gin and Phonics benefit
Read about our 2022 spring fundraiser, Gin & Phonics. We’ll be honoring our 2022 Elevating Literacy Award recipient, Alane Gaspari. Alane is an Interventionist at Parley’s Park Elementary School. The event also features PCHS ’99 & Artist, Chad Starling.
Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Conference
On November 10th, PC READS hosted a Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Conference featuring expert attorney, Peter Wright. While originally planned for April 2020, this event was rescheduled due to the pandemic to be held virtually through Zoom. PC READS volunteers organized and mailed conference materials, including three Wrightslaw books, to all participants. About 100 participants logged online to gain increased knowledge of special education laws and procedures with the ultimate goal of helping families and schools work together to better ensure that children receive appropriate and effective educational services. We are very thankful to our Conference Scholarship Sponsors, Reading Horizons and The Hall Family Fund, as well as the National Ability Center for being a conference supporter.
COVID-19 and Our Plan to Support Educators
Specific information on Heggerty’s plans to provide phonemic awareness through a digital platform.
Why Homeschool a Student with Dyslexia?
New Fact Sheet from IDA with thoughtful information including both challenges and benefits on homeschooling a child with dyslexia.
The Cryers
Many parents will quickly relate to this story, written by a mother about the journey she’s had to ensure that her dyslexic children learn to read.
Parents guide to online school: 9 questions to help vet your back-to-school choices
Some Students Should Go to School, Most Should Stay Home
“Some may think this sounds impossible. Perhaps it is. But I’d argue it is no more unreasonable than anything else being proposed. The truth is, schooling as we knew it six months ago is over. We are being given the opportunity to re-envision education in a way that works for those we have historically failed. We should try to do so.”
Homeschooling with Dyslexia: Resources
How to Improve Distance Learning for Students With IEPs
Should you keep your student at home or send them to school? How to Decide for Fall 2020.
How To Ask for IEP Compensatory Services | ESY | COVID-19 crisis
Academic Supports for Students with Disabilities
“This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. Click here to learn more about the EdResearch for Recovery Project and view the set of COVID-19 response-andrecovery topic areas and practitioner-generated questions.”
COPAA Releases New Recommendations on Students with Disabilities and School Reopenings
Lost in Translation?
The first blog post about a new paper co-authored by several literacy experts about the science of reading and education. The tile of the paper is “Lost in Translation? Challenges in Connecting Reading Science and Educational Practice” and it will be published in an issue of the journal Reading Research Quarterly (RRQ) devoted to this topic. The authors will be breaking down topics in a series of blog posts – so check back regularly!
How More Teachers are Being Trained in the Science of Reading
“Education school leaders recognize how aligning teacher practice with methods backed by scientific research might start to crack the fortress of American illiteracy that many view as a crisis.”
Understanding the Fuss About Teacher Prep
This is a good summary of articles supporting the need to improve teacher preparation in the area of reading instruction. PC READS understands this issue and, thanks to community support, offers professional development grants to educators who want to learn more.
Good Grades are not enough to Support a Finding of Ineligibility
Article by Attorney Michael Connolly, focused on the decision in Doe v. Cape Elizabeth School District.
EXCERPT:
In other words, while a student’s generalized academic performance (i.e., his or her grades) may be a factor in determining whether progress has been made, the weight given to that overall performance must be based on the unique circumstances of the child, particularly when the child’s overall academic performance is discrepant from his or her performance on assessments or progress monitoring measuring the specific areas impacted by his or her disability.
Interview with Max about overcoming challenges with dyslexia
Good interview for students to watch – to the end.
PC READS Aims to Bring Families Together through Summer Program
We’re excited for our new summer reading program, full of unique reading challenges that families can complete together!
Select the Best Graphic Organizers to Teach Math Facts and Procedures – Christopher L. Woodin, Ed. M
One of IDA’s free videos offered in spring 2020.
Switching Letters, Skipping Lines: Troubled and Dyslexic Minds
This essay was written by Hayden Miskinis, a 12 year old from Epping Middle School in Epping, NH. It was one of the top three winners in the middle school category of the New York Times Annual Student Editorial Contest.
The Top 10 Ways to Advocate for a Child with Dyslexia
This Dyslexia Quest podcast features Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley, author of Dyslexia Advocate.
Literacy: The Forgotten Social Justice Issue
EXCERPT: Yes, Black lives matter. But in the context of schools, as educators, as people who claim that their life’s work is for Black, brown, and disenfranchised children, we can not fully proclaim that Black Lives Matter until Black literacy does.
Prioritizing Educator Knowledge through Grassroots Activism
Inspiring article by Maria Murray, CEO and President of The Reading League.
EXCERPT: I received numerous emails from previous students once they began teaching. Their inquiries confirmed that even if knowledge of the science of reading is taught in university classes, it will likely melt away if the schools in which graduates are hired do not embrace it.
How ‘Reading Instruction’ Fails Black And Brown Children
By Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System – and How to Fix It
EXCERPT: When it comes to reading, what works is a simultaneous mix of two things at early grade levels: systematic instruction in phonics, and starting to build the kind of knowledge students will need in high school and beyond. What doesn’t work is what schools have been doing: giving a token nod to phonics while encouraging kids to guess at words, and scrapping social studies and science to focus on illusory reading comprehension skills.
Parley’s Park First Grade Teacher Kara Cook Receives PC READS Literacy Award
Congratulations to Kara Cook, the recipient of PC READS’ 2020 Elevating Literacy Award!
Every Child Is Unique… and Every Child Has to Learn the Same Skills
“It is simply not true that there are hundreds of ways to learn to read… when it comes to reading we all have roughly the same brain that imposes the same constraints and the same learning sequence.”
— Dr. Stanislas Dehaene, Reading in the Brain (2009)
This fall, teachers will be on the front lines
“How do we safely pass out and collect papers? Can students work in groups? Educators need answers.”
Is dyslexia going ‘unnoticed’ in schools?
Article out of New Zealand which notes that “Dyslexia tutors from Learning Matters saw a surge in enquiries from parents who started noticing problems with their children’s literacy, once they began helping their children to learn from home.”
