Participants View

Parent Responses

• " It has opened a whole new world for my son. He is so excited about reading. I really thank Reading Recovery so much."
• "She picks up any book she can get her hands on and she reads stories to her little sisters."
• "The Reading Recovery program has helped my child a lot. Thank God you have something like this program to help kids who really need it."
• "He loves reading anything that will come across the eyes. I enjoy the look on his face that glows whenever we are on the road and my kid is reading every sign in the road."
• "He tries to read everything!! Even when we’re driving around, and when he sees a new book, he’s curious to see what it says."
• "His attitude has changed for the ‘Best’. He loves to read with me or by himself. He even enjoys acting like he’s the ‘teacher’ reading to his class."
• "After school she always wants to read to everyone in the family. Her attitude about reading has changed for the better."

Classroom Teacher Responses

• "My personal experience is that Reading Recovery specialists are an integral part of student success and achievement."
• "The Reading Recovery program makes an extraordinary and positive difference in the students’ reading achievements."
• "My students have gone from being self-doubting tentative students, to students that really utilize the skills and strategies that they have been taught. Mitchell especially has gone from a non-reader to a fluent expressive first grade reader. He is very confident and proud."
• "Dramatic improvement in comprehension, decoding words, spelling, spacing of letters, penmanship, enjoyment to want to read, listening skills for rhyming words, initial, medial, ending sounds. Also, the overall pacing themselves to do work in a timely manner."
• "Progress is usually rapid, significant, and long-lasting in Reading Recovery students. Reading Recovery teachers accomplish incredible results and change student success."
• "My Reading Recovery students have made dramatic changes in the classroom. Although my observations are only measured from the beginning of February until June they are extremely positive. Marcus’ self-esteem has improved and thus his behavior has benefited. He loves to read – silently, out loud, to himself, or to anyone who will listen."
• "Each and every Reading Recovery student that has made literacy achievements that I did not think were possible. Not only in reading but in writing as well!"
• "Our Reading Recovery teachers have been has been instrumental in helping students in my class become readers. Reading Recovery is absolutely a valuable part in making sure no child is left behind."

Administrators

Commendations from administrators reflected satisfaction with the performance of full program students on First Grade Benchmarks, the limited number of Reading Recovery children requiring retention, and the positive effects of collaboration between Reading Recovery teachers and the first grade classroom teachers of the children they served. Administrators also recognized the leadership role played by Reading Recovery teachers and how their skills and knowledge positively impact an entire school staff. Comments include:

• "I am a true believer in what Reading Recovery can do for at-risk students."
• "Data indicate the high success of the program."
• "One often hears about the cost of this program to the site but you cannot look at it in these terms when you see how excited students and parents are when children begin to read and pass benchmarks."