Literacy program trains teachers, students

Jennifer Knight

Monday, July 8, 2002 | 11:09 a.m.

Reading list

A list of suggested books by approximate grade, according to the Tutorial Project:

A strained smile creeps across 10-year-old Priscilla's face as she begins to read aloud, "Sl-ah-med. Slom-ed. No. Slammed."

She is praised by her tutor when she gets the word right, and then breathes deeply before reading the next sentence.

Priscilla is going into sixth grade next school year but reads at the second grade level. She is one of 60 students ages 6 through 13 attending the Community College of Southern Nevada's Tutorial Project, a new literacy program that helps students bring their reading and writing skills up to grade level.

About 90 percent of the students there are one to two levels below where they should be, said Kevin Laxalt, reading specialist and director of CCSN's Tutorial Project.

There are several literacy programs already operating in Las Vegas, but Laxalt's program is unique. It is the only one of its kind in the county that trains student-teachers and students at the same time. And it is one of five groups in the state awarded a $16,680 Eisenhower federal grant.

"No one I know of (in Clark County) is doing this kind of intense program," Laxalt said.

Laxalt said the reasons behind illiteracy are varied. About 90 percent of the program's students have parents with language barriers. A large percentage of children entering Clark County schools read at a 3-year-old level and are not read to by their parents. Teachers are often unable to devote time to help those who fall behind, and reading problems result, Laxalt said.

Laxalt likens herself to a surgeon of sorts. While teachers try to teach a range of subjects to students, she homes in on reading and writing, using a step-by-step reading technique developed in Australia.

The program assesses students' skills and then assigns them certain books based on their reading level. For example, many first graders are introduced to "The Cat in the Hat" as a first book. Laxalt said studies show it should be one of the final books used for that grade.

While some tutorial programs can take a year to get a child up to their proper grade level in reading, Laxalt said she can get the same results in less than three months.

"Boy, if we have them for a whole summer, we can bring them up six to seven book levels, which is equivalent to one whole grade level in reading," Laxalt said.

Leonardo Montejamo, 9, is one of the kids in the program who has risen above his grade level in reading. He boasts about his ability and says he stays in the program, because "I just want to learn some more."

The programs seems to have had a profound influence on Priscilla after just one month.

"I want to be a teacher someday so I can teach others like myself to read," Priscilla said. "(It's important) because it's your future.