Dear Trinity Families and Friends,
It is difficult to believe that the school year is almost over, and as I reflected with the faculty over this school year, one area of improvement for our school is committing to a top-notch reading program. One reason for parents to place their children at Trinity is the value found in individualized instruction. Three major changes that our children will experience next school year are in our Reading and Language Arts core classes. We have purchased a new reading program. We have also purchased an adaptive reading module, and most importantly, we are committed to a Reading Interventionist trained in the Neuhaus Reading Program. This person will work with students and teachers in the classroom, in small groups, and in pull–out classes outside the classroom.
For the 2018-2019 school year we are committed to Reading Rigor:
- pulling out students who qualify for remediation in reading with a full-time Reading Interventionist
- incorporating the Waterford program for responsive learning for practice in the classroom and at home
- a new reading program called Journeys that focuses on differentiation for various learners
- trade books to ensure students are exposed to various genres
The person that takes on the Reading Interventionist role must be willing to follow through with each individual struggling child, keep organized documentation, and be willing to go above and beyond to meet the specific needs of each student in their care. They must also be able to work with the gifted and talented students.
Our reading interventionist for next school year will be Mrs. Kelly Schwab. Mrs. Schwab has an Elementary Education degree with a Reading specialty from The University of Texas at Austin. Mrs. Schwab has 20+ years of teaching experience in the 1st through 3rd grade levels, which are the targeted grades of the students who need the most help in Reading. She taught 3rd grade for five years at GISD and was a Reading Interventionist for 3 years, with a pull-out program tutoring students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade, one on one (Success for All curriculum). She has taught 2nd grade for 16 years (5 years at GISD and the last 11 here at Trinity). Her experience in Reading has exposed her to many effective programs including, but not limited, to Lindamood-Bell, Neuhaus, multisensory Grammar and Scientific Spelling.
What attracted me most to this decision was her ability to work closely with our families and as well as having worked closely with both former Directors of the TES Learning Lab. She will continue her professional development by going through an intensive Neuhaus training this summer. I have witnessed her dedication and commitment to her students throughout this school year. Her consistent teaching style reinforces concepts previously taught. She can identify her students’ strengths and weaknesses and knows when to reteach and enrich when necessary. Her personality is steady, calm, and encouraging. As one teacher shared, “Kelly is truly valued by the Trinity community and has established important relationships with families.”
With warm regards,
Mark Ravelli / Head of School
Trinity Episcopal School
720 Tremont Street Galveston, TX 77550
409.765.9391 https://tesgalv.org