pals program

I have never heard of it. What is the link?

Janis

I may be way off base, but when I was teaching in Wake County, NC, about eight years ago PALS was a team-taught approach. Both teachers were trained in collaboration, and were (ideally) given planning time together. I felt that it worked well to provide extra support in science and social studies, but that it fell short in language arts and math. Two teachers in one classroom teaching two entirely different language arts lessons (in small groups) made me crazy, so I can’t imagine how difficult it was for my distractable students, and for those students who were supposed to be doing independent seat work at the same time.

Karyn

I found it at http://pals.virginia.edu/ It stands for Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening.

The unfortunate things about an acronym like PALS is, it’s used for a lot of different things!

I have actually heard of that assesment, but if you think this is a reading intervention program (and not assessment), there is a reading program called PALS through Sopris West, and it has one well-known author, Joe Torgesen, which is a very good sign.

http://www.sopriswest.com/swstore/product.asp?sku=663

Janis

HI

We live in VA and my son’s school does PALS testing. In second grade he scored an 8 that is very low and then the next year he scored 13 I have not received his score this year they just gave the test to him again.

I did just go on the link to PALS and to my surprise they mention summer intervention if the child didn’t meet the benchmark. I had been told by a friend that there was a summer program but when I asked my son’s school last year about it they said since he was in a special education program he would not be eligible for the summer program. Is that crazy or what? Why is it that you can’t get more than one service?

Michele

Michele,

You should challenge that. There have been lawsuits or due process cases over just that situation…special ed. students being denied regular ed. services. You will probably win if your child really is appropriate for that intervention.

Janis

Michelle,
In our VA district, all students scoring below the benchmark on PALS will receive small group tutoring. Not sure yet where we are going to get tutors and how it will be scheduled. Our K-3 teachers had to give every student the test at the beginning of the year, and will give it again in the Spring.

Hi

Do you know if they will receive the small group setting even if they allready have sp ed help? I was told he would only have his sp ed services.

Michele

That is “to be determined” at this point. Since the tutors will likely not be trained teachers, I would think that the ld student would be better off spending his/her time getting intensive multisensory reading instruction from a trained special educator. Perhaps I’m dreaming that such services are provided in most public school districts.

Yep you are dreaming :-) but it’s a nice dream carry on!
Most teachers (even reading specialists) do not know how to use multisensory explicit systematic phonics programs.

Tutor is another thing. The tutors hired by school districts don’t usually have any background. The charter school I worked as a tutor, well I was much the exception. No particular background was required.
Many tutors think that OG, for example, is a cult. How do I know this? I asked! But the tutor might be trained. You need to ask questions.

—des

Hi all,

The PALS program was designed by Marcia Invernizzi at UVA. Most of the teachers in our school system have taken classes there, and been trained by her. Unfortunately, the PALS is used as a screening requirement in our school system, and not as a form of remediation. I have talked to Marcia personally, and she is wonderful, and the program is not being used in the way it was intended.

In our school district, when a student is identified through PALS, an aide implements the program - and is “monitored” by the reading specialist in the school. My son did that for two years as his “special ed remediation for reading” although they denied him any other reading services. The recommended maximum for the group in VA is 5, but there were 6 in my son’s group. I’m sure you all know the story about my son and his lack of services.

I finally took him to the ReadAmerica Clinic in Orlando - and he is vastly, vastly improved. I don’t have word to tell you how much that program helped him.

So, I guess the moral to the story is to find the ways your child learns best. Find that remediation yourself, and make it happen. Sad, but true.

Lil

By the way,

I had my son tutored for 3 hours a week during the summer between second and third grades by an experienced teacher who was trained by Marcia Invernizzi, using the book she co-authored called “Words Their Way.”

After about thirty hours of instruction, my son only got ONE word right on the twenty word post-test the teacher gave him.

After 15 hours of instruction (and more maturity) he is an excellent student after I took him to the Read America clinic last summer.

I didn’t think I would ever see that happen.

Lil

Hi

I am searching for the read america clinic I can’t find anything in VA. Do they not have anything like that in VA? I am having a terrible time finding things in our area.

michele

I live near Danville. Would I be close enough to you to help? I’ve helped lots of students with a direct multi-sensory decoding system. Anita

Hi

We are in Winchester. There is just nothing here. I am not sure how far you are. I think it is a few hours.

Thanks

Michele

Hi,

I’m in Fredericksburg - but the Read America clinic I took my son to is in Orlando. I have a brother who lives down there, and we stayed with him while my son was doing the clinic.

If you want to pursue Reading Reflex/Phono-Graphix, you might try their website to see if there is a tutor close to you who uses the program.

www.readamerica.net

Lil

Hi again,

Winchester is not so far from the “great” Northern VA/DC area. Don’t they have any classes you could do on weekends?

If you can’t find anything in your area, contact me at [email protected], and I will tell you more about what I am doing. It would help your son, I’m sure, as I have yet to find any student who has not benefited from it. In fact, the more challenge teaching, the better!

Anita

To find tutors in your area, you really need to email Readamerica and ask (http://www.readamerica.net ). They have only a small fraction of their tutors listed online.

Nancy