It's Never Too Late to Learn

By the time a student who has been struggling with a reading problem gets into high school, a lifetime of frustration can lead to hopelessness and dropping out. Keystone Oaks is looking to combat that process with The READ 180 Program. 

READ 180 was developed in association with Dr. David Rose of Harvard University and his team at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to include a multitude of Universal Access capabilities designed to expand learning opportunities for all individuals.

"The unique aspect of the program is that it is center-based. It's highly motivating," says Kathy Foster, assistant superintendent and elementary special education coordinator for , who helped bring the program to the district.

Teachers begin and end each 90-minute session with Whole-Group Instruction that engages the entire class. In between, students break into groups and rotate through three specially-designed stations for small-group and independent learning. 

Launched in May 2011, READ 180 Next Generation is the result of five years of intensive research and development. The program claims to have expanded into more than 40,000 classrooms to reflect the best practices observed in the most successful implementations across the country.

"A suite of new technology, data analysis, content and resources is designed to maximize student engagement, teacher effectiveness and leader empowerment," claims the Scholastic website that sells the program to school districts all over the country.

This technology is set within a uniquely styled classroom setting that includes clearly defined areas with specific purposes, such as a comfortable independent reading area, a small-group instruction area, larger-group instruction area for the beginning and ending sessions, and a technology center where students do independent computer-based learning. 

Each station is designed to support and interact with the others to create a learning experience that supports and reviews the processes of the other stations. Lessons are individualized to each student while larger issues are addressed in the group instruction.

"The curriculum starts easy," says Foster, "but then gets more complicated as the students become more successful on a passage." 

The program is designed for students reading well below grade average (usually at least two years) or in the lowest stanines, 1, 2 or 3 on the PSSA scale. 

"We have been hearing and reading a lot about this program," she says. "There has been a lot of press and a compendium of research."

The district is trying the program out on the high school students because they are at the most risk and have the least time to improve their skills.

"It's never too late to intervene," she says.