Letters

Sharing in Success

I read the wonderful article ("Birth of a Standard," Fall 2001) about Idaho, Caldwell Schools, and Sacajawea in particular. Kudos go to the staff and in particular to their visionary superintendent and the hard work and dedication of Margo Healy. This superintendent began implementing scientifically based reading research practices even before the Idaho Reading Indicator or the Comprehensive Literacy Course. I only wish my company had been mentioned, since the work in Caldwell did not happen in isolation.

We began working with Caldwell three years ago—before the Idaho initiative. CORE (Consortium on Reading Excellence) consultants provided training to K-3 and 4-8 staff and provided training to Margo Healy as a leader. CORE consultants initiated the use of Open Court with this client and supported its implementation. CORE continues to support Idaho through the Comprehensive Literacy course and through certifying and supporting outstanding local leaders.

CORE is a professional development organization providing technical assistance to schools to implement reading best practices. Our advisory panel includes Edward Kame'enui, Doug Carnine, Barbara Foorman, Shane Templeton, and Louisa Moats. Our book, the CORE Teaching Reading Sourcebook K-8, is used by many of the providers of the Comprehensive Literacy Course. We recognize that the work of reform and reading improvement is done by the local staff, but our trained and skilled consultants work hard also, as they did in Caldwell, to provide the knowledge, impetus, follow-through, and support to initiate and sustain the change. We helped Caldwell in the bad old days when resistance was high and into their success.

Linda Diamond
Executive Vice President
Consortium on Reading Excellence (CORE)
Emeryville, California

More Than a Container

I am currently designing a school as my thesis project. I strongly feel that schools can and should be designed to supplement and enhance education (Designs for Learning, Summer 2001 ). They should be more than just containers where book learning is doled out to children. I intend to design such a school keeping the Asian context in mind.

Ailya Jafri
Architecture student
Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture
Pakistan, Karachi

Free Info on Facilities

I have just come across this issue (Designs for Learning, Summer 2001) and I would like to congratulate you on your presentation of many of the important issues regarding school facilities today. Perhaps you would like to alert your readers to the following information: The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) is a free public service sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that provides information on planning, designing, funding, and maintaining schools. The NCEF Web site (www.edfacilities.org) links to thousands of publications and includes information on school facility news and events, award-winning school designs, and school construction data.

Judy Marks
Associate Director
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
Washington, D.C.

A Sense of Family

Your article ("Making It Personal," Winter 2000) was of great interest to me. I went to school in Germany, where after elementary school, students through 10th grade are in the same classroom, with the same 30 or so students all day (with a few exceptions). Teachers vary throughout the day, but you stay in your homeroom, in the true sense of the word! My high school probably had close to 1,000 students in it, but it never felt big because of the close sense of family that developed within our classroom. Particularly in the turbulent adolescent years, having a place where you really belong is so important.

Karma Clarke-Jung
Special education teacher
Riverside Center
Winston, Oregon

Haunted by Dodge Ball

I am 31 years old, and dodge ball still haunts me ("The Death of Dodge Ball," Fall 2000 )! We used to have to line up against a cement wall, or stand in a circle of peers waiting to be pelted with balls bigger than our heads! I was small and the balls hurt, and at times, knocked me off my feet. I was very popular and a tomboy, but I could not compete with the stronger, larger boys so I was no less a victim. The tough kids tried to get hit because that meant they got to throw the balls at the other kids. They dominated, tormented, intimidated, bullied, and physically attacked their classmates—while a teacher stood by encouraging their behavior. This was not my idea of fun. What lesson is this game supposed to teach children: how to be an aggressor? how to be a victim? I don't want my children to be taught or forced to perform well at either of those tasks! This is a cruel lesson we should spare all children.

Tiffany Murdock
Norwich, Connecticut

Applause for the Arts

I found the article "Picasso in the Wilderness" (Summer 1999) thrilling and inspiring! As an art teacher for middle school, I always feel limited to the amount of art I can include during the semester (I teach half the student population each semester). It would be wonderful to include the arts in all of the curriculum so that students have an even larger exposure to art. This article is a guideline to how to do that! I applaud a small rural community for emphasizing the importance of art.

Genie Holt
Art teacher
Vulture Peak Middle School
Wickenburg, Arizona