The Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            CONTACT: B. Denise Hawkins Tuesday, June 8, 2005                                                         (202) 466-7496 or                                                                                                Art W. Fisher                                                                                                (605) 455-6012

 Fostering Literacy among Native American Children  is Focus of Summer Reading Institute Teachers and Parents Will Receive Training  in Effective Reading Instruction

 WASHINGTON — Increasing the reading proficiency of Native American children on the nation’s second largest Reservation is the goal of a two week summer reading institute. 

The Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN) Summer Reading Institute will bring together more than 60 elementary school teachers and parents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle, SD June 13-23. Teachers and administrators from each Pine Ridge area school, including the Porcupine School, will be among the educators participating in the training sessions at the Pahin Sinte College Center. The Reading Institute, hosted by the Oglala Lakota College Education Department, will offer teachers skills needed to enhance classroom reading instruction using scientificallybased reading research or SBRR. Fundamentally, SBRR means using reliable evidence to make decisions about how to best deliver reading instruction. This research strategy creates a basis for classroom instruction, professional development, and assessment. 

Event organizers say they also want to empower parents to support their children in learning to read and write. 
“Oglala Lakota College (OLC) was asked by the Pine Ridge area schools to provide further support and guidance to assist teachers in developing a knowledge base about scientifically-based reading instruction and the skills necessary to apply effective instructional practices,” said Art W. Fisher, dean of the (OLC) Education Department.  In addition, Fisher said, the RFTEN Reading Institute will offer parents simple but powerful ways to support their children in learning to read and write.  “We recognize that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers. And we know that when parents and families work together to support learning, everyone benefits.” 

Less than 45 percent of the teachers on the Pine Ridge Reservation are Native American while the school population is 98 percent Native American, primarily Lakota, said Fisher, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a graduate of Oglala Lakota College.

“Oglala Lakota College has demonstrated its commitment to embracing and disseminating information about scientifically-based reading not only through its work with teachers but with parents, and the larger community it serves,” said Dr. Boyce Williams, RFTEN project director. “We are delighted to support and be a part of this Summer Reading Institute which will provide a rich cultural experience, be a force for empowerment, and serve as a catalyst for instilling a love of reading and writing in Native American children.”
Presenters will include education, literacy and linguistic experts Stephanie Charging Eagle of Oglala Lakota College; Dr. Peggy McCardle of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Treopia Washington of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and Erica Simon of the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas in Austin. 

Oglala Lakota College is one of 31 minority-serving institutions participating in the Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN), a national project promoting professional development in scientifically-based reading instruction at selected Tribal Colleges and Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and at Hispanic serving Institutions. The U.S. Department of Education in 2003 awarded the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) a three-year, $4.5 million grant to train reading faculty in scientifically-based reading instruction at these institutions with the goal of raising P-12 student achievement in reading.  NCATE is recognized as a specialized accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and accredits 550 colleges of education that produce two-thirds of the nation’s teacher graduates annually.

Funding for the Summer Reading Institute is provided by the Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN) project. The RFTEN project is supported by partnerships with the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development; and the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas College of Education in Austin.