As The Reading Forward Project grows, the goal is to support educators and families with knowledge about the science of reading to help develop strong readers. When I created The Reading Forward Project, I asked myself "Why is this an important endeavor and why should I share it with others?"
I believe this will help others broaden their perspectives and seek out literacy teaching strategies to serve multiple types of learners.
As a young adult, I learned so very much living abroad and teaching at an International School in Switzerland. The Swiss culture, the “hidden rules”, language barriers, and the attitudes were new to me. Learning the cultural norms in my new country was difficult. As the days and weeks passed, I realized my journey as an educator was only just beginning and my time abroad would strengthen my resolve and increase my ability to help others when I returned home.
Upon my return to the States, I relocated to Nevada from my prior home in OH with an opportunity to teach 3rd grade in a rural valley just north of Las Vegas. After completing my first year of teaching, I was asked to teach summer school on the Paiute Indian Reservation. I prepared my lessons, yet, upon arrival at my summer job, I was astonished at the culture. As I got settled, I began to learn about the local people by focusing on how they lived, what they valued, and their social norms.
When lessons were hard for the children, they would speak in their native language leaving me out in the cold. Understanding how to teach non-native speakers is what was needed in these lessons. My students needed comprehensible input to build listening skills, as well as needing opportunities to use English in a safe environment. I started to understand that the resources they needed would require appropriate scaffolds according to the level of English that they could comprehend. I spent several summers on the reservation teaching, learning, and growing. The longer I was present, the more they got to know me. As the children traversed through their learning journey, many children began to trust me and open up as well, but one day I was told I would no longer be able to teach in the community because our funding was being cut. There would be no more summer school for the children.
After leaving the rural school and reservation, I headed to Las Vegas to help open a new school. The area was expanding exponentially, and the district could not open schools fast enough to accommodate the population boom.
Our team was busy planning and working to open the new school building that we would oversee. What we all realized that sunny morning was that we were not really prepared. We had over 200 families still seeking enrollment in our facility and most of our families (86%) were multi-lingual (MLS)!
We soon learned that our students did not have the foundation they needed to learn as multi-lingual speakers. As teachers, we lacked the necessary understanding and knowledge to teach MLs. I recognized that I needed to learn more to support my own ML learners and I wanted to begin teaching others not only in my school building but across this vast district. Over the next year, I completed my TESOL endorsement and began to train others.
In order for my co-workers and I to adapt to new ways of thinking about teaching literacy, we needed to challenge our prior belief systems. Our multi-lingual students learned in a slightly different way than our single-language students. We had to work within the student’s primary language so we doubled our efforts.
The struggles we worked through managing teaching in the multi-lingual environment were very challenging. I learned a lot as a teacher, and literacy coach, and even after becoming a principal. My experience reminded me of how I had to adapt to life on the reservation and during my time in Switzerland. Both of these experiences laid the foundation for my next steps in education.
After completing my teaching and administrator positions in Nevada, I moved to Texas where I once again had many MLs students/families in my community. In my new role as a principal, I was able to have a voice for ALL. At this point in my career, I learned that it is critical to build a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to consider the needs of all students. I knew what instruction needed to look like and we set those as our goals. It is hard work to change systems. However, alongside my classroom teachers and other administrators, my community of educators set out to do just that.
After moving back to Ohio, I became a member of the State Support Team (SST) and worked within a regional capacity. Working closely with the Ohio Department of Education, my coworkers and I began new unique positions called Regional Early Literacy Specialists (RELS). Within this role, we were a part of creating and aligning the State’s Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement and other systems projects.
Our work has expanded over the years, and at present, I work on State Advisory Committees for MLs. These committees represent the shifts at a state level to support the infrastructure necessary to reform how we teach children. We have had the great pleasure to work with Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Carol Tolman co-authors of the professional development entitled, “Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling” (LETRS).
Later, OH Governor Mike DeWine pledged to renew the focus on literacy in Ohio to align to the science of reading and support schools in purchasing the evidenced-based curricular tools, to provide teacher training at his 2023 State Address.
It is my privilege to be currently instructing adult multilingual students in the Ohio Options/ASPIRE program as well as working at a non-profit organization that truly "ensures that all students become readers, writers, and thinkers who learn from, care for, and respect one another". I continue to advocate on behalf of all who may not be able to speak English YET and as they struggle to gain literacy skills.
I believe in literacy for ALL.
I invite you to join The Reading Forward Project to share your journey with others and ask your questions. Together we can make a world of difference!
Contact me directly with questions.
Learn more about our resources and find our FREE Stages of Language Acquisition PDF!
