I have had the opportunity to work with Nora and the E.B.L.I. instructional practices since 2002, first as an administrator of an elementary school and now as a Director of Curriculum & Instruction.  Honestly, I was a huge skeptic when it was first described to me.  I was convinced that in the past we killed students' enthusiasm for reading with "worksheet phonics" and needed to do real reading with our students.  (I've since learned EBLI isn't  the old way of doing phonics!)  However, believing that the only way to know if something works, especially when in my previous district our elementary school's student population was 98% free and reduced and over 50% second language learners, and many were below grade level in reading, I knew we had an obligation to try it out. 

I asked our trained staff member to take a pilot group of first graders and see what impact the change in instruction would have.  After just six (6) weeks, the pre/post data of subtests from the Woodcock Reading Mastery were astounding.  Furthermore, the EBLI strategies are so logical and quick to learn, that students were reading authentic text!  In fact, they were reading with more accuracy-even our second language learners were able to attack and read almost any word they came to, without guessing or needing to rely on pictures! Their fluency and comprehension improved as well.

I recently finished reading John Corcoran's book:  The Teacher Who Couldn't Read.  I am all the more impassioned that every child preK-2^nd grade receives EBLI instruction as their foundation upon which to build the fluency and comprehension that will propel them to being the best readers and spellers they can possibly be.  It can easily be embedded into every reading/writing program out there!  However, it also means we must be willing to let go of some old practices, and honestly admit they don't work-guessing at unknown words being one of them. 

Additionally, for every student that we have moved through the grades who are stuck at a 2^nd or 3^rd grade reading level, we have an obligation to give them these tools!  They can learn to read--our students are proving it every day!

Should you be interested in more information, please feel free to contact me or visit our schools to see the great work in progress! 

Wendy Maynard-Somers

Director of Curriculum & Instruction

Fruitport Community Schools

(231) 865-4001

Ext. 1403

wsomers@fruitportschools.net