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Special-education teachers urge district adoption of Reading Mastery or Corrective Reading for 141 students
Summary
At the Sept. 9 Committee of the Whole, special-education staff said mixed use of several reading programs risks gaps and recommended adopting Reading Mastery or Corrective Reading to provide explicit, systematic instruction for 141 K–8 students identified for reading support.
Ariane Taft, an 8th-grade special education resource teacher, and Elizabeth Miller, a K–1 cross-categorical special educator, told the Central School District 51 Board that current practice of using parts of multiple reading programs has created gaps in instruction.
“Currently special education teachers and reading interventionists use portions of Wonders, Literacy Footprints, Leveled Literacy Intervention or Study Sync with modifications. This creates the potential for gaps in learning and slows down potential progress,” Taft and Miller said, and they argued for more direct, systematic instruction.
Taft and Miller recommended moving to a program that provides explicit foundational instruction — specifically naming Reading Mastery and Corrective Reading — and said the change would target students identified for support. The transcript notes: "There are currently 141 students, K-8, identified for reading support, via an IEP or reading intervention, who would benefit from using Reading Mastery or Corrective Reading."
The presenters did not discuss procurement timelines or projected costs in the record reviewed by the Board. Board members noted the agenda item as "Corrective Reading and Reading Mastery" and placed the literacy approach on the Board's consideration list for follow-up.
