Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: February 12, 1998

Reading Initiative

This center, located in the College of Education, is a statewide project funded through a competitive grant from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as part of the Governor's reading initiative. The center's focus is to assist K-12 educators in enhancing the reading and language skills of their students. The major objectives are to (1) enhance knowledge and skills of teachers as they implement the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS); (2) provide a team of specialists who can provide intensive professional development to schools; and (3) develop materials and products that enhance implementation of TEKS.

The center works closely with reading liaisons and advisers at each of the TEA's regional service centers, as well as with other university-based reading centers, such as the Center for Academic Reading Skills at the U.T. Health Science Center at Houston. In addition to training experts and developing a model school-based and university-based laboratory program, the center maintains an on-line conferencing system and produces a variety of manuals, teacher's guides, videotapes, and CD-ROM's.

The center was funded in its first year with a $1.3 million grant from TEA, and it has recently received renewal funding of $1 million. The center is directed by Dr. Sharon Vaughn, a nationally recognized authority on teaching reading. She may be contacted at 512-232-2320.

Reading One-One - U.T. Dallas

The Reading One-One tutoring program is the model for the President's America Reads program. Schools from 21 cities from Brownsville to Alaska have patterned their own tutoring programs after it, and it is being adapted by school officials in Mexico to assist young readers there.

The U.T. Dallas program uses course-credit and paid tutors to provide highly structured tutoring in reading for elementary school students who are most at risk. Paid tutors are selected from among U.T. Dallas students, students from other area colleges and universities, and community residents.

The program began as a class offered by Dr. George Farkas in the U.T. Dallas School of Social Sciences. The program recently received support through a federal grant as part of the AmeriCorps program. The three-year grant provides U.T. Dallas with $1.65 million and U.T. Brownsville with $750,000 as a sub-grantee. The grant helps expand services to elementary schools by subsidizing the cost of tutors.

Dr. Farkas, director of the Center for Education and Social Policy at U.T. Dallas, may be contacted at 972-883-2012.

Center for Academic Reading Skills - U.T. Health Science Center - Houston

This is a multidisciplinary research center that focuses on the neuroscience of how children learn to read. The center has developed reading diagnostic instruments required by the Legislature for kindergarten through the second grade.

The center's researchers have gained national recognition for their work on cognitive and biological factors that influence the development of reading and academic skills. Their research includes the development of skills in normal children, children who are underachievers, and children who are disabled. The center provides an organizational structure through which science-based reading programs and teaching methods can be disseminated throughout the state.

In addition to such research, the center's objectives are to evaluate the effectiveness of curriculums and assessment tools for remediating poor reading at all ages and levels of ability; to disseminate information on curriculums and assessment tools for teaching reading and other academic skills from kindergarten through grade 12; to provide training for teachers; and to work with public schools in monitoring classroom interactions and making assessments about the effectiveness of curriculums and teaching materials and methods.

Research at the center is supported with a five-year grant of $12 million from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Co-directors of the center are Dr. Barbara Foorman and Dr. Jack Fletcher.

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