Mention accelerated learning and you probably think of high school students taking Advanced Placement classes. But did you know that every year about 300 of the very lowest performing first graders participate in a special literacy intervention that provides opportunities for them to accelerate their literacy learning skills? After just 12-20 weeks in Reading Recovery the very lowest readers have the prospect of joining an average reading group!

Rapid changes in learning depend upon the teacher's ability to individually design a series of lessons to match the unique learning characteristics of each child. So teachers are continually confronted with the need to expand their expertise.

This year, thanks to the generosity of a $22,600 Deluxe Corporation Foundation grant, teachers are honing their skills in a unique series of professional development sessions. Lead by Jeanette Methven, a New Zealand native and national consultant for Reading Recovery, teachers observe lessons through a two way mirror and reflect and talk about how the child is learning and the teacher's critical decisions. The objective is for the child to move from low reading ability to average in a short period of time. That means a struggling child has to develop a faster than average learning rate — now there's a teaching challenge!

The final component of the grant expands collaboration with classroom teachers to insure that literacy learning continues in the classroom setting after lessons are completed.

The Deluxe Corporation Foundation understands the need to have highly skilled teachers working collaboratively with the hardest to teach children. Our sincere thanks to Deluxe for making this exceptional professional development opportunity available to MMSD teachers!