Hilltop Elementary School
is in the of Glen Burnie, Maryland.
MRS. GRACE

HILLTOP'S
READING RECOVERY TEACHER

Reading Recovery is an intensive reading program for first grade students who seem to be experiencing difficulty acquiring reading skills. This program has been funded by a grant. The program offers daily individual lessons in developing reading and writing skills. These students begin to use their known letters, words and knowledge about books as the basis for learning. Connecting what is known to what is to be learned helps the child make new discoveries in reading and writing. We are quite pleased with the accelerated progress we have seen with our students. As soon as one student is dicontinued from the program, having achieved the average level of the class, another student begins the program. Our greatest challenge is that we have only one Reading Recovery Teacher at this time with 5 first grade classes. We depend on the classroom teachers to use some of the same strategies with small groups so that we can reach out to more students.

This position in Reading Recovery is new for me, but Hilltop is not! I came to Hilltop in 1980 after finishing 4 years of teaching in Baltimore City. Dr. Mae Gordon hired me as a Special Education Resource Teacher. I worked along with Mr. Broderick who showed me the ropes. We worked together under Dr. Trippett's supervision for many years. Principal Harry Sharkey gave me the opportunity to move into a first grade teaching position in 1995. I taught with the first grade team for 2 years and then moved into Reading Recovery. The training is ongoing in this program. As the children are required to learn new things each day, so must I.

It is always pleasing to see all of Hilltop's students in the halls. I find myself saying, "I can't believe how you've grown, what grade are you in now?" It feels good to have played a part in the lives of so many in our Hilltop family.

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hilltopel@hotmail.com

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Last updated 3/99