Cranford Academy to Again Help Struggling Readers

Learning to read comes easily to some and not so easily to others. 

For an even smaller group of children, learning to read is a downright struggle.  Various factors, including neurologically-based learning disabilities, can impair a person’s ability to process sounds of letters into words. 

It is for these students that the Cranford Public School District started in 2004 a standards-based remedial reading program to help children in grades 1-12 overcome severe reading issues. 

The idea of the Cranford School District Academy (CSDA) is to essentially extend the school day (instructional sessions for up to 28 students are held from September to May on Saturdays), provide each child with one-to-one attention, and teach reading skills ‘from the ground up’ via the Orton-Gillingham teaching pedagogy, which is multi-sensory, and phonics-based.

Aside from the fact that it’s offered by a public school, one other aspect of the program has made the CSDA, now starting its sixth year, fairly unique: its public-private partnership. 

Program sponsors fund the CSDA via a combination of grants, donations and student sponsorships. 

“While there’s no guarantee of a full scholarship to attend the CSDA,” said Stephen Izzo, CSDA Program Manager and the district’s manager of grants and special programs. “I’m pleased we’ve been able to fund the program 100 percent since 2006 and 75 percent in its inaugural year through the beneficence of more than 200 sponsors — Verizon and the United Way of Greater Union County, among them.”

As much as for its success helping non-readers read, the public-private partnership component of the CSDA led the New Jersey School Boards Association to recognize it in 2007 as an ‘Exemplary Practice' (PDF link) in special education.

“It’s a two-way street since employers as much as educators understand that everyone benefits when employees come to the workplace with the skills they need to succeed," said Izzo.

Lorraine Madden, a special-education teacher at Orange Avenue School, leads a team of seven CSDA Instructors, each of whom supports four students on a typical Saturday.  Attendees gain entry to the program based on test scores and other criterion indicating a serious need for reading help.  They are likewise tested at the conclusion of the program to determine gains made and areas requiring additional attention over the summer. 

While the CSDA initially focuses on improving a reader’s word attack skills (phonetic decoding), word identification skills (ability to read isolated real words), and fluency (ability to sound out words quickly), increased attention is paid to reading comprehension as the reader progresses. 

“The idea is to make reading less of a struggle and even something children enjoy since it affects every other area of learning and life,” said Madden.  “We believe the CSDA, admittedly one small part of the education equation, is helping us achieve that goal one child at a time.”

For more information on the CSDA Program please contact Mr. Izzo at 908-709-6207 and izzo@cranfordschools.org, or Ms. Madden at 908-709-6257, or maddenlo@cranfordschools.org.