Learning to read is the cornerstone of all subsequent learning. Clackamas Education Service District facilitates a K-2 Literacy Network that helps teachers throughout our region use evidence-based best practices that meet children where they are to grow their literacy skills. This summer, we’re hosting two week-long trainings that help educators deliver “structured literacy” lessons. The training, approved and recommended by the Oregon Department of Education, is designed to create immediate impact in the classroom.
Kirsten Kelley, a first grade teacher and certified trainer for the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education, led the first five-day workshop in June 2023. Sixty educators from eight Clackamas County school districts spent the week learning how to deliver structured literacy lessons fostered by the science of reading. The teachers walked away with instructional materials and “teacher tips” they can take back to their classrooms, as well as access to a digital platform with additional resources.
Charlotte Gant, Clackamas ESD’s early literacy consultant, says the training is an excellent and necessary example of support provided by the K-2 Literacy Network.
“Our network convenes educators to address curriculum rollout, instructional strategies and culturally responsive teaching,” Gant says. “We lean in and learn alongside each other using cognitive psychology, neuroscience and language as a lens for this work.
“The IMSE training is an example of our learning during our conversations this year. When I previously took the IMSE training, I was impressed by its relevance and impact. IMSE is a method used to deliver sequential, systematic, explicit instruction within a teacher’s core curriculum. Educators learn how to deliver the instruction and are given examples on how to align this method with core reading curriculum they have in place in their schools.”
Clackamas ESD will host a second week-long IMSE training in August 2023. Educators from across Clackamas County as well as Wallowa and Deschutes counties are planning to attend. More literacy training is planned for the 2023-24 school year. For more information, contact Charlotte Gant at cgant@clackesd.org.
