BOURBON - Triton Elementary School teachers are already seeing positive results from a $219,000 grant the school received as part of the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act.

A committee from Triton Elementary reported on the program to the school board Monday. The grant money is being used to fund the Reading First program in the school's kindergarten through third grade classes. The program involves both teachers and students and focuses on increasing individual students' reading levels during the critical early elementary school years.

In the Reading First program, each student receives more individual attention to their achievement in five major areas of reading: phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency and comprehension. To track achievement, students participate in individual assessment sessions with a teacher. Their performance is tracked and measured with state-mandated benchmarks.

According to Reading First grant coordinator Peggy Hill, the most important part of the program is the professional development acquired by the teachers. "Teaching reading today really is rocket science," Hill said.

Since the awarding of the grant in May, Triton Elementary teachers have been receiving training in implementing Reading First strategies into their teaching. They learn how to use the information they gain from assessments to modify the instruction they provide their classes, and they learn how to make decisions in the classroom that will benefit their strategies.

Cognitive coaching is a part of the program designed to guide teachers through strategic decision-making. Christine Cook is a cognitive coach at Triton Elementary. She described her role as that of a flashlight that shines light on a teacher's thinking and that of a passenger on a stagecoach where the teacher has the reins and the coach sits beside and talks her through her decisions.

Triton second-grade teachers Dawn Gould and Lorri Gabhart reported to the board that they are seeing success of the program in their classrooms. Gould said the assessment scores in her class are steadily rising and she is gaining valuable information on her students' individual progress by putting them in smaller groups for reading time. Gabhart said her students are feeling more responsibility and control in their learning. She said the individual attention the program provides empowers them and actually speeds their improvement.

Becky Carswell, mother of a Triton Elementary second-grader, said she's seen results from Reading First. "My son was in this program and I cannot say enough about it," Carswell said. "It is excellent. After six weeks, I could see a difference. It's a wonderful program."

At the close of the presentation, Triton Elementary principal Tom Bowers said, "I think we're working smarter as well as harder. Every school in the country has been asked to improve, and we've been given $219,000 to do it."

Members of the school board asked if the program will be used at the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade levels. Bowers said he is working on a plan to extend the program.

"I think this is very exciting," said board president Kevin Boyer. "I appreciate all the work and energy that is being put into it."

The school will receive federal money for the program for the next six years. The amount is expected to decrease each year as the need for program-related materials decreases.

In other news:

The board improved an employee insurance proposal from Gibson Insurance Group for the coming year. Premiums in the proposal are increased about 23 percent. Mike Miley of Gibson Insurance Group said the increase is due to workers' compensation, which, he said, has been a problem in the past year. Miley said workers' compensation accounts for almost half of the total insurance premium. He said he expects the workers' compensation rate to fall significantly by next year. He stressed to board members the importance of continuing to work toward an accident-free workplace. [[In-content Ad]]