Purdue News
Purdue News
The School of Education will use the funds to create scholarships for Greater Lafayette teachers to be trained in the early intervention literacy program that pairs struggling first-graders with a teacher for daily tutoring over the course of 12 to 16 weeks. The objective is to accelerate students' progress and help them reach the average reading level of their peers.
Dean Marilyn Haring and State Rep. Sheila Klinker of Lafayette, Purdue's outreach liaison for education, accepted gifts from the following business organizations today (Friday, 3/21):
-- Wilbur Hancock of Cinergy presented $10,000 for 1997 with a pledge for an additional
$10,000 in 1998 and $10,000 in 1999.
-- William F. Connors of the Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union presented $2,500
for 1997.
-- Leon Dixon of Harrison Kiwanis presented $3,000 for 1997.
-- Paul Fitzgerald of Noon Kiwanis presented $6,000 for 1997.
Purdue Reading Recovery administrators Deborah Dillon and Maribeth Schmitt will work
with local school corporations to identify teachers who qualify for scholarships
during the 1997-98 school year. Reading Recovery teacher training costs about $6,000,
and involves a year-long after-school course at Purdue that earns each participant six
hours of graduate credit from the School of Education.
Dillon, associate dean for research and development and an associate professor of literacy education, said it was a pleasure to accept the gifts from business organizations right in the university's backyard.
"These organizations have made a commitment to providing Reading Recovery for children in several schools in the Lafayette area and by doing so will impact the academic success of many first-grade students," Dillon said. "We need more partnerships such as this between businesses, K-12 schools, and universities as we work together to provide quality education for all children."
Schmitt, director of Indiana Reading Recovery, noted that the program has a proven success record.
"According to statistics compiled at Purdue from 1993 to 1996, Reading Recovery has served more than 3,100 children statewide," Schmitt said. "Of the students who completed the program, 86 percent caught up with their classmates."
Sources: Dillon, (765) 494-2354; e-mail, dillond@vm.cc.purdue.edu
Schmitt, (765) 494-9750; e-mail, mschmitt@vm.cc.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
