Like all other states with Reading First programs, Ohio has spent part of its grant on “teaching teachers how to teach reading.” e-Read Ohio, however, represents a model unique in the nation for investing the Reading First dollars in an in-state program, rather than spending those dollars out of state. Teachers learn, practice and apply techniques with measurable literacy benefits for elementary and secondary students, and every school in Ohio can benefit from the program.
For several reasons, e-Read Ohio is a work in progress:
- Its staff constantly develops new literacy modules to meet the evolving needs of teachers and their students.
- The modules help validate, reinforce and improve teachers’ best practices, so the schools have an interest in both repeating courses every few years as refresher training and taking new courses to deepen teachers’ understanding of literacy techniques.
- Schools constantly modify their curriculum to encompass new discoveries in education, so teachers face new material and need scientifically based ways of communicating it.
- Veteran teachers move among schools, and new teachers arrive in schools every year.
- New students from low-performing demographics enter the classroom with new literacy needs every year.
e-Read Ohio deserves expansion and continued funding as an effective vehicle for developing and disseminating literacy training to the state’s teachers. Beyond returning the original Reading First investment, e-Read Ohio is paying literacy dividends as a robust method of disseminating professional development with great fidelity to all Ohio teachers.
