Sheridan Preparatory Academy
Jeremiah Spicer, Principal
400 Sheridan Avenue, Albany, NY 12206
(click here for directions)
Ph: (518) 427-2340
Fax: (518) 463-0799
Nurse: (518) 427-2342
Literacy
Collaborative School
Sheridan
Preparatory Academy is a Literacy Collaborative School.
Becoming a Literacy Collaborative School is a long-term
process that involved comprehensive school change, as
well as a school-wide effort to provide good primary
(grades K-2) and intermediate (grades 3-5) literacy
instruction, with a safety net for the children who need
it.
A Literacy
Collaborative School is defined by the following
characteristics:
1.
Teachers and administrators in the school and district
have entered into a collaborative long-term relationship
with a regional university that is implementing a
research-based Literacy Collaborative Program. Sheridan
Preparatory Academy, for example, is registered with
Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ohio
State University, as an active Literacy Collaborative
School. With registration, schools are granted
permission to use Literacy Collaborative training
materials within the school and to use the trademarked
name on a royalty-free basis.
2.
The school forms a leadership team for the primary
grades and one for the intermediate grades. The teams
receive training to support and monitor the Literacy
Collaborative Program.
3.
The school has a trained Literacy Coordinator for the
primary grades and one for the intermediate grades. Each
coordinator is a teacher and a staff development
trainer. Part of their day is spent in the classroom
teaching children (50 to 70% of the day). The other part
of the day is spent being a literacy coordinator (30 to
50% of the day), which includes:
Providing an initial course for primary teachers
(grades K-2);
Providing in-class assistance to teachers through
demonstration, coaching, and reflection on teaching;
and
Planning
and working collaboratively with teachers in the
school.
4.
From the
second year of participation at the primary and
intermediate level, the majority of teachers are engaged
in Literacy Collaborative training and follow-up
support. The goal is for all teachers to participate in
training. The literacy coordinator and teachers are
continually engaged in updating their knowledge and
refining skills through ongoing training and support,
which includes ongoing coaching.
5.
There are
adequate materials to support rich literacy programs in
grades K-5 and to implement the language and literacy
framework as designed.
6.
Reading
Recovery is provided as a safety net for children in the
first grade who, even while experiencing an effective
literacy program, are having difficulty with the initial
stages of learning to read and write.
7.
There is a home reading program and parent outreach.
8.
Teachers
in the school collect and analyze data yearly to assess
the effectiveness of the program in their school. This
data also becomes part of the national research on the
effectiveness of the Literacy Collaborative.
