Anonymous Donation of $100,000 Goes to Mamaroneck for Early Reading Support

by Joan R. Simon

(February 3, 2005) An anonymous local family has donated $100,000 to the Mamaroneck School District for the purpose of helping early readers, especially those from economically disadvantaged homes, get a better start in literacy. The grant, which was made through the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation, will be divided into three parts: a science curriculum for the Pre-K program at Mamaroneck Avenue School; training for more K-2 teachers in the Orton-Gillingham phonics program; and the purchase of palm pilots for pre-K, kindergarten and first grade teachers to use in evaluating students’ reading skills and monitoring their progress.

According to Annie Zimmer, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the school district met with the donor family over the summer and fall to devise the specific programs that are being organized under the newly established Academy for Building Proficient Readers. An advisory panel of educators from both inside and outside the district has been formed to identify the specific goals and evaluate the progress of the three programs. “We want to hold ourselves responsible for spending the money wisely,” Ms Zimmer said.

Pre-K Science Curriculum

The first initiative is a new science curriculum for the Pre-K program at Mamaroneck Avenue School. Ms. Zimmer described it as establishing a base in physical science with regular pre-school activities “like water play or block building rooted in a curriculum framework.” She added, “The vocabulary and concepts around these hands-on experiences is essential to lay an important foundation for literacy.” For example, she said, children might be asked: “What does this feel like – it’s grainy, it’s slimy.”

Orton-Gillingham Program

Several district teachers already use the Orton-Gillingham program to teach reading through phonics, but becoming proficient in the method requires specific intense training. The grant will allow additional early elementary teachers to become certified as Orton-Gillingham trainers who can pass on this technique to their fellow teachers.

Palm Pilots

The district will purchase Palm Pilots equipped with a literacy assessment program so that a selected group of pre-K through first grade teachers can more readily pinpoint and diagnose an individual child’s reading difficulties. Ms. Zimmer said this will enable data to be collected and an individual students’ progress to be assessed over time.

The three programs are already underway and will continue through next year. According to Joan Rosen, Director of Public Information for the school district, “These initiatives will better equip early pre-school and elementary teachers with a broader range of tools to diagnose the particular literacy skills that a specific child has or lacks and, once diagnosed, tailor their literacy instruction appropriately.” It is hoped that additional funding will permit the several initiatives to continue after next year.

“We’re proud to be associated with such a caring and generous donor,” said Sabrina Fiddelman, president of the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation, which helped to bring the donor family and the district together.

Superintendent Sherry King expressed her thanks to the family: “I am thrilled by the generosity of these members of our community … This grant will allow us to enrich the language experiences of our youngest pre-K students and expand the repertoire of teachers throughout the system in strategies for the teaching of reading.”

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