Preparing teachers to teach reading

Would it surprise you to know that many teachers are never taught how to teach reading? They feel unprepared to teach struggling readers. This might not sound like a big deal until you discover that more than 45,000 Georgia 4th graders can’t read at a basic level.

THAT is a big deal.

REAP is expanding our Structured Literacy Training
at Georgia College
REAP and Georgia College have teamed up to attack Georgia’s illiteracy problem by training all the GCSU pre-service teachers before they leave college. Partially funded by an IDA-GA grant, the first cohort of 100 seniors and juniors eagerly participated REAP’s Structured Literacy training pilot program in 2019-2020. Again with help from IDA-GA, REAP has expanded the training for our second year at GCSU. Juniors trained last year will receive additional days of training, and new juniors will receive the initial training. We're currently delivering the training virtually, and very much look forward to getting back into the classroom face-to-face!

What do we expect to achieve?
1. New teachers will be better prepared to teach all readers,

especially those who struggle with reading.

2. Fewer students will fall through the cracks since the teachers

will be equipped from day 1, wherever they end up teaching:

classroom, EIP, SPED, ELL, etc.

3. REAP will train 100 pre-service teachers with this program this year.

During a typical career a teacher will teach about 400 students,

so this training will benefit 40,000 readers over time.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

Dyslexia is an important issue for REAP. Jen & Jeremy Rhett founded REAP after their own children and family members struggled to learn to read because of dyslexia. According to the International Dyslexia Association, “Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties.”

What is dyslexia?
The IDA says “Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms that results in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia often experience difficulties with both oral and written other language skills, such as writing, and pronouncing words and writing.” Dyslexia is hereditary, so it can be found in siblings, parents, aunts/uncles, and grandparents.

People with dyslexia can learn to read!
This is the most important thing for educators and parents to know about dyslexia.

Given the right kind if instruction...the earlier, the better,

children with dyslexia CAN LEARN TO READ!

Structured Literacy works for kids with dyslexia
The IDA advocates “reading instruction that is based upon a systematic and explicit understanding of language structure, including phonics. This reading instruction goes by many names: Structured Literacy, Orton- Gillingham, Simultaneous Multisensory, Explicit Phonics, and others.”

REAP trains teachers in Structured Literacy

to help all struggling readers
Many teachers don’t know how to teach children with dyslexia, or those who struggle with reading for other reasons. This is why REAP trains teachers in Structured Literacy. We empower them to turn struggling readers into strong readers!