D.O.E.

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Home : 2004 : August : 19

D.O.E.
By Reading First

D.O.E. is short for Department of Education. I agree about the accountability factor and high expectations. I guess my problems deal with the fact that despite the numerous conferences we go to (which are highly repetitive
for our staff) seem to give different answers to the same questions. For instance, one presenter said Four Blocks was great. Another said it was a "no no." Another presenter said that it was fine to write during the "sacred" 90 minute reading block. The next presenter said to never do that. . .? My other frustrations include that we hear that our lowest of the low kids deserve the

best of the best instruction. When we ask about the highest of the high students, we receive mumbled responses about how they will do fine in this environment. I truly believe that EVERY child deserves the "best of the best" instruction. Coupled with the fact we have a mediocre/snippy Reading Coach, our primary staff gets stressed. She was in my room to help me (count this) ONCE last year and that was before our audit. Fortunately, each and every primary teacher takes it upon themselves to learn more about the best reading strategies and how to effectively apply them.