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September 2004

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Villanova was host to the first ever Reading First Coaches Institute (RFCI) this past July.  Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Governor’s Institute, the RFCI is part of the No Child Left Behind Act which helps school districts that have a low socioeconomic status. The RFCI works with these schools to help them give their students the best education possible by focusing on reading. 

The weeklong session was developed to work with reading coaches from the applicable school districts across the state and share with them up to date information about teaching and how the brain functions. The five main topics focused on were fluency, phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary. Learning experts in the field of reading were the keynote speakers at the workshop. Dr. Marcia Gieza, division administrator of Berks Country Intermediate Unit and one of the program organizers described the goal of the program as to give the teachers that attend “a deeper understanding of how you teach reading and all the components that make up reading.”

“The Reading First Institute is one of a small number of institutions offered across the state and Villanova is fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the Department of Education and the Reading First Initiative to provide a learning environment for the reading specialists. Teachers from all over Pennsylvania were able to get together to discuss issues and solutions regarding the desire to increase the reading capabilities of our students,” said Bob Stokes, Assistant Vice President for Part-time and Continuing Studies and site director for the institute.

Tim Rasinski, one of the keynote speakers, is a nationally known researcher in the field of reading. He is currently teaching at Kent State University in Cleveland, Ohio and has been there for 16 years. He spoke about fluency and recognition of words through a hands-on assignment in which the audience participated as well.

Two of the reading coaches who attended were Pam Wolff and Ann Martelli, both teach in the Norristown Area School District and have been teaching for 11 and six years respectively. Wolff and Martelli are going to be part of a team to train reading coaches in the fall, and are attending the weeklong session through a grant from their school district. Martelli said the workshops have been great because it gives them an opportunity to “network with districts throughout the state who have used reading coaches before, and find out what worked for them and what didn’t.” Wolff added that the workshop was important to attend because “it gives us updated information, and we get to hear world renowned speakers.” Both women agreed that the RFCI was “Intense.”

Villanova was chosen as host for this important event because the Governor’s Institute has held sessions here before and, according to Gieza, feels the “facilities were wonderful and have a nice academic atmosphere.”