Why You’re Here. Why I’m Here.
You have struggling readers that come into your class each year already reading below grade level.
You struggle to identify your students’ needs.
You struggle to find quality material that targets the specific reading deficiencies of your students.
Why You’re Here. Why I’m Here.
You have struggling readers that come into your class each year already reading below grade level.
You struggle to identify your students’ needs.
You struggle to find quality material that targets the specific reading deficiencies of your students.
You are frustrated because you have been teaching guided reading and have students reading leveled readers until they are blue in the face but feel like it’s not making a difference with your low readers.
You are frustrated to see the potential of your students and not know how to help. You know if students believed in themselves it would raise their confidence in learning to read. You just want to see smiles on their faces again!
I know EXACTLY how you feel because in 1999 I was in your shoes!
You can read more of my story below. 🙂
I learned what needed to be done to close the reading gap with my struggling readers and began to have amazing results! I have spent my whole career working with schools and districts across the country sharing the exact steps it takes.
I believe that the power of teaching a child to read can be done simply in a short amount of time with laser focus on the right things.
“We have this upcoming school year to bring our scores up or the state is taking us over.”
This was the message we heard that August day coming back to school in 1999. I was working at the most ethnically diverse Title 1 school in our district. Our school had 12 languages and 44 percent of the student population spoke limited English. We struggled every year with students coming to us already reading several years below grade level.
That year our principal brought in training that would teach me how to teach reading. I was working very hard doing what I thought was right but not getting results with my students. I was four years into my teaching career when I realized my college courses had not prepared me for how to teach reading.
We learned the science behind teaching reading, how to use assessments to drive our instruction, and how to meet the needs of the students who needed extra support.
In the next three years our Academic Performance Index (API) grew from 603 to 790, ranking our school the third highest-performing school in our district. When we started, we were ranked eleventh out of twelve schools. Because of our success, we were recognized at the White House.
It was at that school where I found my passion: helping high poverty, struggling readers learn to read. I saw first-hand through my teaching that in the six or seven hours we have students in our classroom, we can make a HUGE difference.
I continued teaching elementary school for several years, while working part time in the summers with other schools and districts teaching them how to do exactly what we did. I decided to consult privately and worked with state departments, districts and schools across the country, sharing the process and systems that need to be in place, helping leaders to be successful, training teachers how to teach reading, and working with instructional coaches.
My passion for bringing struggling readers to benchmark continues because I believe all children can learn to read and I want to help you make that happen!
Why?
Because I’m tired of seeing teachers frustrated and overwhelmed trying to figure out exactly what to do with students who struggle in reading. It also breaks my heart that students are passed on each year not reading at the level they should be. So if you are ready to learn exactly what it takes to help the students in your classroom then let me help you!
Becoming a Reader is an online community with the mission of inspiring and empowering educators to bring their struggling readers to grade level through a simple process. We believe that every child can learn to read, no matter their circumstances!
Educators need to know what they can do in their classrooms and schools TOMORROW to help their struggling readers. That’s exactly why we are here…to help educators do just that.
Sometimes being in education can be challenging.
here's the truth...
Being in education is both stressful and rewarding. There are days we feel on top of the world and days when we feel we have hit rock bottom and wonder why we ever got into this profession.
We all feel like this at some point.
What we have to do is stay focused on the task of teaching and ensuring our students leave our classroom at the end of the year with their reading gaps closed. IT CAN BE DONE! I have done it myself and I have helped others do it too. That is why I am SO passionate about helping as many educators as I can.
How we can help…
We are here to help you and your students succeed.
What you will find here:
I know everything we have created can help support educators who are feeling hopeless or confused as to what to do to help their struggling readers.
We can all make a difference in the lives of the students we get each year. I am here to help you do that and make it easy!
Please get involved and watch the growth your students make!
To your success,
Lori
How we can help…
We are here to help you and your students succeed.
What you will find here:
I know everything we have created can help support educators who are feeling hopeless or confused as to what to do to help their struggling readers.
We can all make a difference in the lives of the students we get each year. I am here to help you do that and make it easy!
Please get involved and watch the growth your students make!
To your success,
Lori