Reading Recovery Director and Teacher Leaders from across the state with Senator Dan Kelly at the first Reading Recovery conference.

More than 300 Reading Recovery teachers attended the first statewide conference in Lexington, Kentucky on July 18th and 19th in downtown Lexington presented by the Reading Recovery University Training Center at the University of Kentucky. Teachers from Paducah to Pikeville came to learn new applications and procedures in this literacy intervention program that is saving Kentucky’s children from being mere statistics.

Kentucky Education Cabinet Secretary Virginia Fox and Senator Dan Kelly spoke to the teachers, reminding them of their great influence on the lives of the students they serve. Senator Kelly received Kentucky’s Inaugural Literacy Leadership Award presented by the Reading Recovery University Training Center for his unrelenting commitment in bringing this literacy intervention to children struggling with reading across the state.

The Literacy Cornerstone Award was presented to Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and was accepted by Jacqueline Austin, director of curriculum and assessment. JCPS was the first school district to provide Reading Recovery to its students and was recognized for 18 years of implementation.

Brandon Fuller, a 2006 graduate of Franklin County High School received a Kentucky Rising Star award. At a Senate Education Committee meeting two years ago, Brandon told the members that “I might never have had the confidence to try new things and believe I could succeed if I had not had Reading Recovery in the first grade.” Brandon graduated high school with honors and is attending the University of Kentucky.

Reading Recovery effectively brings struggling first grade readers back on track with their class by teaching them a network of strategies for reading and writing that go beyond isolated skill knowledge. This intervention program, now active in 56 counties and 21 independent schools in Kentucky, has served more than 3,000 students in the 2005-2006 school year.

CONTACT:
Dr. Judy Embry, Director/Trainer, 859-257-7859
Sandy Jackson, 859-257-7859
Heather Hartley, 859-257-5069

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