COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ohio Department of Education and the education company Pearson today announced a partnership to introduce an innovative Literacy Leadership Teams (LLT) model of continuing professional development to hundreds of teachers from kindergarten through high school. Ohio is the first state to invest in the LLT model for comprehensive educator training in literacy.
The $6 million, four-year program establishes literacy leadership teams within Ohio's schools. The LLT model, based on Pearson's already successful Learning Teams model, starts with the implementation of well-defined student instruction, and includes teacher team meetings for review and assessment of student performance. The model actively engages the teacher teams around daily practice in the classroom and allows for continuous adjustment of instruction and intervention.
"Student success begins with reading," Susan Tave Zelman, state superintendent of public instruction said. "Reading skills are instrumental for success in other subject areas. By coordinating literacy efforts throughout the academic curricula, we can help establish a strong foundation of literacy."
"From our 15 years of research, we know that with the Learning Teams model, teachers benefit from each other's strengths and that together they become much more effective than they were individually, said Beth Wray, CEO of the Learning Teams initiative. "The ultimate goal, of course, is to help teachers improve student performance at every grade level."
Pearson will train all teachers in 20 elementary, middle and high schools during the four-year project. Schools will be selected strategically across the state in order to serve as training, observation and launching sites for additional LLT schools. In addition to the teachers in these schools, Pearson will train and assist Ohio's Regional Literacy Consultants to deliver the same high quality school services as Pearson's Learning Teams advisors. These measures will allow LLT implementation at up to 52 schools, supported by the Regional Literacy Consultants, with the goal of implementing these programs at every school in the state.
In 2006 Pearson, in conjunction with John Carroll University and the Ohio Reading First program, began piloting the Learning Teams program with eight elementary schools in Ohio. The success of this pilot will serve as the foundation for the broader statewide work now getting underway as a part of this initiative.
Pearson has assisted with the development of successful Learning Teams in Newark, NJ, Omaha, and in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, a six-year study of 15 schools with Learning Teams showed a 41% increase in literacy and math scores beyond the gains of the comparison schools. Based on this evidence, Learning Teams has now expanded its network to include large-scale implementations of the program with 84 secondary and 35 elementary schools in Los Angeles.
ABOUT Pearson's Learning Teams
Learning Teams provides direct assistance to schools seeking to improve teaching, learning and achievement. Based on 15 years of research conducted in public schools, Learning Teams helps establish an infrastructure of leadership and ongoing professional development at each school site that engages teachers to refine their teaching and produce better student results. Learning Teams is part of Pearson, the international education and information company. To view a video and learn more, go to http://www.pearsonlt.com/.
Contacts:
Pearson: Kate Miller
