Chapter 5
Effectively Address Poverty and Its Variables
School Programs
Early Literacy Instruction
Mentors and Peer Tutors
Growth Mindset
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Summary
Reflection Questions
The Master Schedule
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Alternative School Schedules
Summary
Reflection Questions
Reflection Questions
About the Authors
Robert Lynn Canady, EdD, is professor emeritus and former chair in the Education Leadership, Foundations and Policy department at the University of Virginia. He has taught grades 6 through 12 and served as principal of elementary, middle, and junior high schools in Tennessee and Kentucky. He also served as program director of staff desegregation, curriculum, and personnel in central offices in Chattanooga and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Robert has worked with school districts in forty-six states and with schools in the Virgin Islands and Dependent Schools in Germany. Major presentations have focused primarily on grading practices, active teaching strategies, implementing programs for at-risk students, accelerating literacy achievement for students in the primary grades, and using a variety of scheduling and instructional strategies to restructure schools.
During his teaching career at the University of Virginia, Robert received the Phi Delta Kappa Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Professor Award in the School of Education, and two universitywide awards for distinguished teaching and service. In 1997, the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals presented him the Lamp of Knowledge Award for his contributions to the field of education. The Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development named him 1998 Educator of the Year. In 2004, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals presented him with the Pathfinder Award in recognition of his years of leadership in enhancing the quality of education in elementary and middle schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In addition to publishing numerous articles in educational journals, Robert has served as general coeditor of seven books relative to teaching strategies designed for block schedules, and he has coauthored five books related to school policy and block schedules.
He received his bachelor of science degree from Austin Peay State University, his master of arts degree in curriculum and instruction from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and his doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee, where he majored in administration and supervision with collateral studies in educational psychology and industrial and personnel management.
To learn more about Robert’s work, visit www.robertlynncanady.com.
Carol E. Canady, PhD, is a literacy consultant, having consulted with school districts in Alabama, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. Her passion is empowering educators with strategies that reduce student failure, primarily by institutionalizing administrative and literacy practices that produce accelerated reading gains. Her consulting focus includes: (1) teaching teachers how to use various assessment measures and instructional strategies within response to intervention; (2) using word study and fluency instruction as bridges to effective reading comprehension; and (3) scheduling and implementing small-group literacy teams to accelerate reading achievement in the early grades.
Carol develops primary-grade curriculum and makes curriculum recommendations aligned with standards with a focus on accelerating reading foundation skills. In her private consulting practice, she provides diagnostic services and then develops and demonstrates how to implement individual lesson plans for students who are reading below grade level to help them progress at an accelerated pace of two to three years in one school year. In schools with an intervention and enrichment period, Carol recommends enrichment units for students who are reading proficiently, with a goal of having those students move to advanced reading and writing levels.
Carol was an assistant professor of early childhood and teacher education at three universities in Ohio. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy assessment and instruction and in children’s literature, with a focus on prekindergarten through third grade. Prior to teaching in higher education, Carol was a teacher, counselor, and literacy coach in grades K–8 for thirteen years. As a literacy coach, she pioneered literacy teaming and assisted schools in high-poverty school districts to experience accelerated reading progress.
Carol received her doctorate in reading education from the University of Virginia. She has also published in various educational journals. Her 2012 Educational Leadership Online article coauthored with Robert Lynn Canady, “Catching Readers Up Before They Fail,” describes strategies for accelerating reading gains to get all students reading on grade level by third grade. She currently serves as an elementary school reading specialist.
To learn more about Carol’s work, visit www.CanadyEd.com.
Anne Meek, EdD, taught kindergarten, summer Head Start, and first grade, and then became a Title I reading specialist in Memphis, Shelby County, and Knoxville, Tennessee. In Knox County, Tennessee, she became an elementary principal, then an elementary supervisor, conducting more than one thousand classroom observations and follow-up conferences. She chaired the state curriculum committee to develop the first set of basic skills in reading for the state of
