Faculty members involved in the Reading Institute for Academic Preparation include, from left, Marilyn Leuer, lecturer of secondary education; Christopher P. Street, professor of secondary education; April Brannon, assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics; Maria Grant, associate professor of secondary education and reading institute director; and Barbara J. Glaeser, associate professor of special education.

Literacy Test for Advancement

CSU-Funded Institute Helps Teachers Better Prepare Students for College

February 8, 2010

By Debra Cano Ramos

An $18,000 California State University grant continues support of Fullerton’s Reading Institute for Academic Preparation in its effort to improve high school students’ preparation for college.

“Through the Reading Institute, we give local high school teachers the tools they need to teach critical reading and academic writing as they support their students’ needs and foster college readiness,” said Maria Grant, associate professor of secondary education and institute director.

To date, 52 Orange County teachers have completed the institute's professional development program. The new funding will allow an additional 20 instructors to participate in the institute's program beginning in June.

Due to limited funding, Cal State Fullerton was one of only four campuses selected to receive the grant award to continue the Reading Institute, which functions in tandem with the CSU’s Early Assessment Program, Grant said. The Early Assessment Program is the CSU’s primary vehicle to assess and increase high school students’ proficiency in English and math before admission to a CSU campus.

According to the CSU, campus reading institutes are an “essential part of our early assessment and academic preparation effort and are critical to assist teachers to effect change in the basic skills of entering freshmen.”

Data shows that approximately 50 percent of freshmen entering the CSU system need to take remedial English courses, Grant said.

“The Reading Institute is designed to help increase proficiency levels so students do not have to take these remedial courses, but instead are confident and prepared for reading and writing at the university level in all content areas,” she added.

During the institute program, held during summer and fall, participants engage in 80 hours of classroom instruction and independent study development activities. The focus is on learning how to guide high school students as they access content and express knowledge through academic reading and writing, Grant said.

As part of the program, teachers become skilled at using various assessment and research tools to both evaluate student needs and as a way to reflect on their own curriculum and instruction. Participants receive a $750 honorarium and a personal library of books on academic reading and writing instruction. Participants are strongly encouraged to share information with colleagues at their school sites.

College of Education faculty members involved in the Reading Institute are Barbara J. Glaeser, associate professor of special education; Marilyn Leuer, lecturer of secondary education; and Christopher P. Street, professor of secondary education. April Brannon, assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics, and Xiomara Melendez, coordinator of Cal State Fullerton’s Early Assessment Program, are also part of the institute team.

Since 2008, the university has received a total of $60,850 in support for the Reading Institute.