Nearly 1,500 parents with kids in the Little Rock School District have signed a petition encouraging schools to keep the Reading Recovery program in place, instead of shifting to a new proposal by its Superintendent.
Jim Ross, a parent of three, said the existing program has proven results and doesn’t believe it should be changed.
Ross explained, “What Reading Recovery does is it works specifically with those lower grades and the kids get one-on-one, the students get one-on-one attention from a teacher for 30 minutes. If you look at Dr. Suggs’ plan, what each student would get if you had nine students in a group for 30 minutes, you’d get 3.33 minutes per kid. So, you’re getting three minutes versus 30 minutes.”
The proposal by Superintendent Dexter Suggs would have one teacher per school leading groups of three to nine students of similar reading levels.
At a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Suggs said he believes this would benefit more children.
“Currently, we’re only providing service for 13 schools of our 30 schools. So, it’s critical that we find a way to provide the services needed for all our students because literacy is extremely important,” Suggs said.
Dr. Suggs will present his initiative to the board in March. Meanwhile parents are expected to weigh in with their thoughts at a meeting on Thursday night.
Follow the links to learn more about the petition to "Keep Reading Recovery"and the LRSD Reading Initiative