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Grant brings back four teachers
Published Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Fergus Falls School District has been approved for a Response to Intervention program grant that will allow the district to hire back four teachers as response to intervention educators.
The district is using the state Department of Education grant to focus on math and reading intervention programs for children in grades one through six.
“It’s good for kids and it looks like it will bring some teachers back,” said Diversity Coordinator Cindy Skalsky, who was involved in the grant writing process.
Response to intervention educators will focus on all students, using intervention methods to determine where a student’s “road block” to learning may be. By identifying each student’s situation and addressing the “road block,” the student will be better prepared to handle the subject throughout their entire education experience, said Curriculum Director Carri Thompson.
The program will work in three tiers, targeting all students with a new district wide math curriculum, honing in on students who are in danger of not meeting state proficiency standards and providing one on one individual instruction for students in need.
The grant comes after the Fergus Falls District did not meet “adequate yearly progress” in middle school special education reading and Area Learning Center math. By targeting students at a young age, the district can begin to re-shape the learning structure from the bottom up so that future students will be prepared to meet state proficiency standards, said Community Education Director Mary Matteson.
Those involved in the written aspects of the grant proposal included Kristen Tuel, Cindy Skalsky, Dawn Koennicke, Vicki Hanneman, Carri Thompson and Mary Matteson. Other contributors included Scott Colbeck, Mike Evavold, Tindy Rund, Niki Welde and Julie Bakken.
The grant will begin with the 2008-09 school year and may be renewed if the district can prove the program’s success.
No final hiring decisions have been made as the district is waiting to hear back from the state Department of Education regarding a grant proposal that could allow for one more teaching position at the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center (PWLC). Superintendent Jerry Ness said all names will be released when the district hears back about the PWLC grant, expected in by the end of the week.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by otter (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Once again the district cried wolf by announcing the big layoffs (in earlier articles) to appeal to the emotions of the voters and Once again they all come back.. this is an annual scare tactic that they use to justify asking for more money...
Posted by wwjdt (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And once again, otter, lack of knowledge about the education system and how it operates by local, state and federal standards makes your statement untrue. Please use your free time to volunteer and make a difference for kids, or talk to your congressman about the system in place to make a change, instead of using negativity to promote ignorance.
Posted by donnyguinness (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said wwjdt. Local administrators don't have a lot of control over things like budget cuts etc... How anyone could post a negative comment about this story is amazing. Four more teachers have jobs and have the chance to make a difference in our kids education.
Posted by TKay (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations on receiving the Response to Intervention grant, good luck with the PWLC grant (great innovative program) and THANKS to all of those involved in pursuing these grants!!
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