The Alabama Reading Initiative

The Alabama State Board of Education has chosen Dutton School to be a Literacy Demonstration site for the Alabama Reading Initiative.

The Alabama Reading Initiative has five criteria for participating schools:

· Setting a 100 percent literacy goal.

· A 10-day faculty training program.

· Adjusting reading instruction to reflect research based practices.

· Modeling effective instruction for other schools

· Undergoing outside evaluation.

Schools for the ARI are selected based on a scale that rates:

· Past actions and accomplishments related to reading instruction

· Faculty interest and commitment

· Knowledge of materials developed by the ARI

· Support of the principal, central office staff and higher education partner

· Professional qualities of the faculty.

The initiative started in 1998 after a yearlong, comprehensive review of research and best practices in reading. Dr. Katherine Mitchell is the director and chief architect of the design of the Reading Initiative.

Teachers at Dutton School were trained in the ARI during the summer of 2000 at Guntersville High School. The faculty is going through the recertification process during the 2003-2004 school year.