PAFE launches reading project

LPOSD receives $114,000 grant

SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Oreille School District is getting ready to "rev up reading," thanks to a major new grant from the Panhandle Alliance for Education.

The grant, called Reading Partnership for Maximum Success, will be launched this fall. It is a comprehensive staff development project designed to significantly improve reading instruction and student achievement at all grade levels in LPOSD.

PAFE has committed to first-year funding of more than $114,000 for the project, and intends to fund as much as $436,000 over four years, pending successful annual evaluations of the project.

The central focus of the Reading Partnership is training of teachers and principals at all grade levels so that reading instruction is consistent throughout the district.

"There is nothing more important to student success than becoming a good reader," said Superintendent Mark Berryhill. He praised the RPMS initiative as a way to "get us all on the same page" when it comes to teaching of reading and literacy skills. It will also train principals to be "effective instructional leaders on reading in their schools," he said.

Another key aspect of the project is a train-the-trainer element, officials said.

"The Reading Partnership will create a cadre of teachers who can function as reading coaches as well as train others to be effective coaches," Berryhill said.

Staff training will be provided by CORE (Consortium on Reading Excellence) a nationally recognized leader in assisting school districts to improve reading and literacy instruction and student achievement.

RPMS was announced over the weekend at PAFE's first Summer Sunset Gala, a festive fund-raiser held at the home of Georgia Shonk-Simmons, president of Coldwater Creek. Major sponsors of the event were Panhandle State Bank and Seasons at Sandpoint.

PAFE President William M. Berg said the education alliance has bee working for well over a year to devise a strategic partnership with the school district that will ultimately "make a difference."

Berg thanked the district's team of teachers, including reading specialists, who worked with a PAFE committee on developing the plan.

"Our committee listened to the experts and they said this will make a difference for kids," he said. "We are delighted to be supporting our teachers in this effort."

PAFE has given more than $200,000 to local schools since it was formed three-and-a-half years ago. Until RPMS, the money was given in grants from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 for classroom projects proposed by teachers, either as individuals or as teams. PAFE also has built an endowment fund of more than $200,000.

Berg described RPMS as a "big step forward for the alliance." A partnership of this magnitude with LPOSD is possible, he said, because of the increasing level of support PAFE has been able to attract.

"Many businesses and individuals understand how important good schools are to the health of our community," he said. "As a community-based nonprofit whose sole mission is to support the schools, PAFE is a natural conduit for those who want to give financial support to public education and receive a tax break for doing so."