Reading All Stars Program
New Ground is committed to helping formerly homeless children achieve
reading success. New Ground has created its Reading All Stars Program
to address the specific educational needs of the formerly homeless
children we serve in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Research compiled by
the U.S. Department of Education states that formerly homeless children
are at a significant educational disadvantage from their non-transient
peers. As a result of the high mobility associated with homelessness,
41% of homeless children go to two different schools within a single
year, and 28% go to three or more schools. The frequent absences and
school changes put homeless children at a higher risk of educational
failure (Better Homes Fund, 1999).
New Ground's Reading All Stars program will serve 54 elementary and
secondary aged students who are members of families participating in
our comprehensive core services for the formerly homeless. The children
mandated to participate in the Reading All Stars program have shown
poor performance on state reading tests and have failed at least two or
more subjects on their most recent report card. The school districts
they reside in are under-funded and cannot provide added support in the
areas of homework, or reading assistance. The students' needs are
therefore not being effectively addressed by the school districts. As a
social service agency that has educational empowerment as a central
component of our mission, New Ground will utilize the latest scientific
research on reading curricula and the latest available real-time
reading technology to overcome the educational deficiencies exhibited
by these children. New Ground's Reading All Stars initiative will
provide students with the reading skills necessary for current and
future academic success. Students are eligible to participate
voluntarily or students will be required to participate based on
assessment and evaluation conducted by New Ground.
New Ground is developing the Reading All Stars curriculum with an independent reading consultant. The curriculum is based on Reading First. The No Child Left Behind Act
recently signed into law by President Bush, established Reading First
as a new, high-quality evidence based program for students. The Reading
First initiative builds on the findings of years of scientific
research, which, at the request of Congress were compiled by the
National Reading Panel. Congress convened the National Reading Panel in
1997. Its charge was to assess the status of research based-knowledge
about reading, including the effectiveness of various approaches to
teaching children how to read.
Under the direction of the Executive Director of the Institute of
Child Health and Human Development and the Secretary of Education, the
National Reading Panel developed the first scientifically based reading
program, known as Reading First. The panel was made up by educators,
scientists, physicians and parents who all played essential roles in
developing the Reading First approach. This is significant because this
is the first reading curriculum that has a stamp of approval from all
educational disciplines.
School districts of Long Island and New York City's Department of
Education, for example, have thus far failed to adopt the recommended
approach. As the largest urban school system in the country, New York
City is expected to set the precedent for neighboring school districts.
However, New York City schools stand to lose $40 million dollars a year
in federal funding because New York City's reading curriculum does not
meet current national standards and totally disregards the scientific
evidence on the most effective reading methods (New York Post, October
20, 2003).
New Ground's Reading All Stars initiative meets the national
standards and goals of the No Child Left Behind Act's Reading First
approach. The New Ground Reading All Stars initiative will implement
the Reading First approach, which emphasizes phonemics awareness
instruction, phonics instruction, fluency instruction, vocabulary, and
comprehension. By implementing the Reading First approach in
conjunction with Taylor Associates' technical support, New Ground is
providing our students with a cutting edge reading program guaranteeing
success. Reading First is so new, that longitudinal data on performance
in metropolitan school systems is not currently available. However,
through the implementation of this pilot program, New Ground plans to
make a contribution to the literature in this field.
