A Bridgeport public school
has received national recognition for its efforts
to increase the literacy skills of students.
Luis Munoz Marin School has been presented
with the annual John B. Rhodes Cornerstone
Literacy Award by the Cornerstone Foundation.
The foundation provides financial assistance
to schools to improve literacy through teacher
training, increased parental involvement and
other methods.
The school has been part of the Cornerstone
literacy program since 2001. The foundation
usually assists two schools in a district,
and Maplewood Annex School also participates
in the program.
Luis Munoz Marin serves about 1,000 students
in kindergarten through eighth grade from the
East Side. Many students come from immigrant
families, and the primary language of most
students is not English.
The school has two literacy coaches and about
75 teachers. The coaches work primarily with
the teachers, but also interact with students.
The Cornerstone program at Luis Munoz Marin
targets kindergarteners to third-graders but
is being expanded to include the fourth and
fifth grades.
Principal Maria Miranda said the help from
Cornerstone Foundation is having a positive
impact.
" It's really changed our teaching practices," Miranda
said. "The children are doing better.
You can see the results in their reading and
writing. It's tangible."
During the last school year, Miranda said,
Marin School students read more than 50,000
books and have been inspired to become authors
themselves by writing short stories and poems.
She said instruction is now based more on
individual students' needs, and independent
reading is encouraged.
Marge
Cunningham, a Board of Education literacy
coach at Marin School, said students now participate
more in classroom discussions. "They understand
better what they are reading," she said.
Cunningham
said the professional development sessions
allow teachers to interact with each
other more. "It definitely brings up the
quality of teaching," she said.
"We've opened the doors so there is a
lot of collaboration," Cunningham said. "The
teachers are on board with it. They get together
and plan common themes and activities. They
even participate in book study sessions outside
of school time."
More critical thinking
Lorraine Wojchik, a Marin teacher and part-time
Cornerstone literacy coach at the school, said
youngsters now do more critical thinking.
" It's not just 'yes' or 'no' answers
anymore," Wojchik said. "They think
more about things, and they answer more questions."
The Cornerstone approach is modeled after
a successful program in London.
At Marin, literacy experts and authors have
visited the school to work with literacy coaches,
teachers and students, and equipment has been
provided to allow video-conferencing with outside
literacy mentors and coaches.
Cornerstone
funds are used to sponsor regular after-school
story hours, attended by parents.
The sessions include discussion and craft activities. "The
parents don't want to leave," Wojchik
said.
The school receives an annual $5,000 grant
from Cornerstone to encourage parental involvement.
During the last school year, at the parents'
suggestion, funds were used to provide book
bags filled with books for students.
Weekly celebrations recognize students' reading
achievements.
An outside Cornerstone team visits Marin School
annually to evaluate the success of the program.
Miranda, the Marin principal, will participate
in one of these teams when she travels in October
to South Dakota to monitor a Cornerstone program
at an Indian reservation.
A celebration to recognize the Cornerstone
Literacy Award took place last week at Luis
Munoz Marin. Educators, Cornerstone officials
and Mayor John M. Fabrizi were among those
who attended.
©Hometown
Publications 2004
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