Educators and decision makers across the nation are realizing the importance that literacy plays in a child’s ability to succeed in life. Chicago Public School (CPS) CEO, Arne Duncan, has made improving literacy a district priority, establishing Chicago Reading Initiative, a uniform instructional framework across the curriculum. The goal is to reform low performing schools by implementing the CPS Reading Framework, which requires teachers to teach reading for two hours daily and use evidence-based strategies. The Framework also calls for literacy specialists to work with teachers to incorporate word knowledge, comprehension, writing, and reading fluency into their subject area curriculum.

The Chicago Reading Initiative is a two-year plan with the goal of ensuring that all students have access to high quality instruction in reading. The program includes five key parts.

1. Teacher Training – Implement Literacy Specialists in all participating schools, offer Saturday workshops, train school-funded literacy and curriculum coordinators, and provide library workshops for primary teachers.

2. Principal Training – Conduct principal training presentations at conferences held by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, try out new observation forms, and view videotapes of exemplary teaching.

3. Instructional Materials – Offer teachers more choices when selecting books for classroom libraries in primary grades and offer schools more choices about where to spend money for instructional materials.

4. Educating Others – Involve community groups and present strategies to special education, bilingual, and ESL administrators.

5. Monitoring – Require accountability for Literacy Specialists through weekly summary reports and outside observations.

The first year of the initiative, 2001-2002, targeted the 114 lowest achieving elementary schools in the district and focused on dissemination of training materials and professional development for school staff and leadership. All principals received training and materials in the reading framework, all K-3rd grade classrooms received grade-appropriate classroom libraries, and highly qualified reading specialists were assigned to each of the elementary schools. These specialists received ongoing training, coaching and mentoring through out the year.

Building on the success of the elementary program, the reading initiative entered high schools in the 2002-2003 academic year. Each high school created a literacy team, comprised of core subject teachers (one from each department), a special education teacher, and the school’s principal or assistant principal. Over the course of the academic year, these teams received a total of 40 hours of professional development from Literacy Specialists. The professional development sessions include demonstrations of classroom strategies, small group and individual mentoring/coaching sessions, assessment of student progress, and data interpretation.

The Chicago Reading Initiative is scheduled to continue for the 2003 school year, with 160 reading specialists assigned to the bottom quartile elementary schools, over 1,200 teachers participating in Summer Reading Professional Development Program, and training for over 450 high school teachers to implement reading in the four core subject areas. In addition, CPS will financially support over 1,000 elementary and high school teachers in obtaining reading endorsements.

Due to the relative newness of the Chicago Reading Initiative’s high school program, quantitative results are unavailable. However, Tim Shanahan, initiative director until the end of the 2002 school year, notes that “given the brief time the specialists have been in the schools, it seems fair to say [that] much progress is being made.”

Contact(s):

Geralyn Wilson, Reading Initiative Project Manager
Email: gewilson@cps.k12.il.us

Jennifer Hester, Director of Secondary Reading
Phone: 773-553-3550