Literacy Support Systems is a professional development organization whose focus is bringing highly qualified consultants into schools to help develop, enhance and nurture best practices in the balanced literacy approach to learning. There is presently a team of 45 consultants, located in the New York area, who spend 90 to 170 days each in schools.
During the 2007 and 2008 school year LSS has serviced 70 NYC school communities. They work closely with LSO, CSO and Empowerment groups in developing ongoing Professional Development offerings for their communities.
In addition, some of our consultants, who meet the needs of our educational communities and hold national recognition, are: Shelley Harwayne, Stephanie Harvey, Carl Anderson, Janet Angelillo, Isoke Nia, Martha Horn, Gaby Layton, Vicki Vinton, Leah Mermelstein, Lester Laminack, Stephanie Parsons, Mary Cappellini, Catherine Brown, Joanne Hindley, Georgia Heard and Ralph Fletcher.
Shelley Harwayne, former District 2/Region 9 Superintendent and founding principal of the Manhattan New School, worked closely with a group of principals developing and supporting a Principal’s Network with the Staten Island.
Sharon Taberski, author of On Solid Ground, supported three schools in Brooklyn studying reading comprehension. Carl Anderson, author of How’s It Going and upcoming First Hand Conference Lessons worked with many schools supporting writing workshop in the early and middle grades.
Dorothy Barnhouse, Teachers College writer alumni, worked closely to develop reading strategies with the ELA teachers in the High School of Law.
National speakers were invited to New York to enhance our thinking and learning: they included Georgia Heard, poet, writer and consultant. She provided a poetry workshop at the Ethical Culture Society which serviced over 100 teachers.
English Language Learners specialists, Mary Capellini and Catherine Brown worked with several schools in examining the needs of our ELL students and how to support their success. Martha Horn, author of Speak, Draw, Write, focused on early childhood skills and strategies. LSS facilitated the collaboration of a group of Manhattan schools to study with Ralph Fletcher, author of children’ books, poetry and professional books. LSS continues to bring nationally known consultants to the NYC community.
Literacy Support Systems provided a group of their consultants to support Mary Commitante’s Gifted and Talented and Social Studies Department’s Reading across the Content Area conference. LSS will provide a group of consultants for this summer’s mini-institute given by the same department.
Consultants have created Leadership groups in Staten Island and the Bronx to support interested teachers across schools. An outgrowth of this endeavor had PS 69 teachers join Harvard University for a leadership course. Work in PS 69, over the past two years, has help develop a strong reading and writing teacher base with a focus on data collection and use in planning. The teachers are looking at the Founta - Pinell assessment kit as well as pre and post writing samples. PS 69 came from a failing school three years ago to receiving a well developed Quality Review
Thomas DeGracia, an experienced principal took over PS 66 this year. It was a failing school with low ELA scores. With the help a LSS consultant, his ELA scores increased by 11% and he received a well developed on his Quality Review.
A team of consultants were invited to work at PS 89, a k-8 school. Within a two year period all of the k-3 teachers where trained in many aspects of balanced literacy, teachers in grades 4-8 began looking closely at their literacy practices with gains in ELA scores and great improvement in their children’s writing. The school was given a well developed with an emphasis on their excellent professional development model. The teachers, across all grades, compared their students September and June writing samples. There was tremendous difference between the two. Many teachers now are interested and attend study groups, mini summer institutes, book clubs and ongoing literacy changes.
The Staten Island Foundation offered $25,000 per school grants to Staten Island schools to support the use of on site professional development to develop reading and writing workshops. LSS provided the consultants needed to reach this goal. The schools reported student growth in writing from September to June. Writing samples were submitted as data evidence. Evidence of the positive effect of this grant is shown with a dramatic increase in grant applications and requests for additional consultants
LSS participated in the development of a writing literacy project for the San Diego Unified Schools in San Diego California (2002-2008), which included a cadre of schools interested in developing a strong and effective program across the grades-k-12. The consultants were involved in creating writing institutes, conferences, workshops and on site lab sites to service the training of teachers, administrators, parent coordinators and district staff. LSS continues to have summer writing institutes in neighboring California districts (South Bay) and support their learning during the school year as well.
Participated in the development of a Balanced Early Literacy Project for District 11 in New York City (1997-2001), which included three schools under the supervision of the Superintendent Marlene Filewich. This project developed a full literacy curriculum for kindergarten through third grade. It highlighted the use and training of initial and ongoing assessment; current educational practices in reading and writing workshop; and the use of current off and on site staff development practices, including training principals as academic leaders. A systemic professional development in a comprehensive approach was used to support teachers, coordinators, family assistants, parent leaders, teacher leaders and school district administrators. It was a four-year plan that expanded each year to include more personal and deeper learning.
During the 1999-2002 school years consultants worked closely with P.S.87 of District 11 (Region 2) in introducing and implementing a balanced literacy program, grades k through 6. One project, which was extremely successful, was organizing and implementing an AIS project to support at risk third and forth grade students. Children where assessed and identified as at risk by falling within the one or two score. During the 1999-2003 school years consultants worked closely with P.S. 87 of range of testing. All literacy related personnel were brought together and choose one or two students who they would meet with regularly, keep accurate records on, develop a consistent literacy course of study with their peer and consultant that met the actual needs of their students. The adults would meet weekly to plan and debrief. The student adult team would meet three times a week for one hour. This went on for building a relationship and trust needed for overall success. The final result several months, was a rise in test scores and a clearer understanding of the at risk population. This approach was adopted as a permanent addition to the academic intervention services at the school
A Literacy Support consultant was involved in Balanced Literacy professional development at Yonkers School 9 in 1998. This school was a school with substantial problems at the beginning of the training. Two years later it was recognized as a school that had made substantial improvement in test scores. Although the testing was only in grade 3 and 4 the literacy program in the early grades reflected the philosophy and practice of the balanced literacy work.
A Literacy Support consultant worked in Bronx District 10 at PS 310 in 1999. This school was removed from the SURR list because of improved test scores. The teachers were able to change both their philosophy and practice.
Literacy Support Systems, Inc. provided Balanced Literacy Professional development in Patchogue Medford, North Babylon, and East Islip School Districts for teachers and administrators. Teachers, after three years, are able to utilize the balanced literacy framework of read aloud, shared reading, and guided reading and independent reading to improve reading performance. The performance of the students at the Robert Moses Middle School showed marked improvement on the 8th grade ELA.
Literacy Support has also done important work in many upstate New York and New Jersey communities such as Kinnelon, Paramus, Mahwah, Clifton and Atlantic City. The writing workshop has been implemented at these sites. Teachers are able to assess their students, develop mini-lessons, confer in the classrooms and motivate and instruct their students to become writers at a high level.
LSS was deeply involved with the opening of an alternative Middle School in White Plains NY. The consultant helped frame the ELA department and set up several balanced literacy classrooms and bring in the ideas thus far developed in the elementary grades. It took time for the students to understand and accept the new model. Within several months there were positive gains and attitude changes throughout the building. The non ELA departments became interested in this new approach and began making changes within their departments. The traditional middle school became interested in the project as well and several ELA teachers became part of the districts learning team. The consultant took many of the teachers on interschool visits to further enhance their learning.
For eight years (1998-04) LSS supported the implementation of a balanced literacy program at the Ardsley Elementary School in Ardsley, New York. Particular attention has been spent developing a comprehensive literacy program with teachers, staff developers, reading teachers and administrators for Kg. through fourth grade. Data collection was extensively developed during this time. The consultant helped institutionalized collecting writing samples for assessment, administrating the Observation Survey k-1 and DRA benchmarks for k-1, 2-5. The results and ongoing updating of data was used to inform their teaching and planning.
Largely due to LSS’s extensive work with Ardsley Elementary they applied and were awarded a national staff development award of excellence. This school community has attended summer courses in reading and writing sponsored by the Edith Winthrop Teachers Center and administered by Literacy Support Systems consultants. Year round courses were created to support the development of reading and writing curricula and mapping of curricula for both Ardsley and Dows Lane school communities.
(2001-2004) LSS has supported the implementation of a balanced literacy program at the Dows Lane Elementary School in Irvington, New York. This professional development has included kindergarten though third grade. One of the emphasis points was developing year long reading and writing calendars to support standards-based curricula. Our staff development included all personnel who impacted children’s learning. There has been a substantial increase in test scores.
Above is the demonstrated effectiveness of Literacy Support Systems over the past fifteen years.