D211 puts energy savings into reading

What do teachers do on the Monday after the end of the school year?

Though there are myriad answers to that question, approximately 40 District 211 teachers and administrators gathered at Conant High School on June 9 to become better trained in administering a reading diagnostic to students who enter high school this fall reading below the seventh-grade level. The six-hour session was lead by Conant High School Principal Tim Cannon and Assistant Principal Sue Hess.

District 211 expects approximately 300 incoming freshmen to experience the four-hour individualized review that will include prescriptive pointers for students' growth in reading during the coming school year. Knowing of this need, many teachers in attendance at the meeting are enrolled in a custom-designed reading specialist program provided by the District through St. Xavier University.

Funding for the work was approved by the District 211 Board of Education, using savings from the reduction in energy usage made possible through the District's work with Energy Education Inc. Since September 2004, District 211 has reduced its energy consumption by approximately 20 percent.

In addition to providing stipends to teachers who will do the work with students, some $80,000 has been set aside for the purchase of reading materials for students.

One of the challenges common to nearly all students who have difficulty reading is the fact that they don't like to read, and therefore they do not read for pleasure. Finding books of interest to incoming high school students who read far below grade level is a challenge. Once students' reading problems are determined, shopping for books and reading materials will be next on the list of things to do.

I want to thank our teachers and administrators who have taken up this challenge and special thanks to the Board of Education for their support for these students. The goal is to have all of these students reading at grade level by the end of their freshman year. Reading is the key to maximum learning at every level, and we hope their high school years will be made richer with this assistance.

Roger Thornton, superintendent

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211