FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2001
$5.7 Million Grant Boosts Reading Skills In Four School Districts
Grant from Morgridge Family Fuels Reading Recovery Expansion
Grant from Morgridge Family Fuels Reading Recovery Expansion According
to a U.S. Department of Education study, "A child's success in learning
to read in the first grade appears to be the best predictor of her/his
ultimate success." The Morgridge Family Fund of The Denver Foundation
is making it possible for even more children to succeed in reading, in
school and in life. Today, this newly-formed fund announced it will contribute
$5.7 million in funds to Denver metro area public schools over the next
three years to expand the Reading Recovery program.
The program helps at-risk first-grade students who have difficulty learning
to read gain the skills needed to succeed academically. Eighty-two percent
of students who complete the full series of lessons, and 59 percent of
students who have any Reading Recovery lessons, read and write at or above
the level of their classmates. Students in the program also do well on
standardized tests and maintain their gains in later years.
"This is a terrific program with a phenomenal success rate, and we
want to make sure as many kids as possible can benefit from it,"
says John Morgridge, Advisory Committee Chair of the Morgridge Family
Fund of The Denver Foundation. "We also want people to know that
they can help support programs at their public schools, programs like
Reading Recovery that truly make a difference."
Schools to be funded are in the Denver, Cherry Creek, Sheridan and Thompson
Public School Districts. Last year, the Reading Recovery was offered at
a total of 30 schools in these four districts. The grants from the Morgridge
Family Fund enable the program to expand to 43 schools over the next three
years, with the potential to reach over 1,400 students. Schools were selected
according to the greatest need for funding, based on criteria including
the percentage of students in the free lunch program and school participation
in the Read to Achieve Program, a program that is aimed at improving second
and third grade reading skills.
Children are identified for both the English and Spanish versions of the
program at the end of kindergarten. Then, for 12 to 20 weeks of first
grade, students meet for one-on-one tutoring each day with specially trained
Reading Recovery teachers. As soon as students can read within the average
range, they rejoin classmates and new students begin individual instruction.
Descubriendo La Lectura‚ students receive comparable instruction
but are taught in Spanish.
"The change in these kids is dramatic. Not only can they keep up
with their classes, they enjoy reading, which means they actually look
forward to coming to school each day," says Denver Public School
Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Kathy Tirrill, who has been with the program
for nine years.
Although full first year funding is available for all participating schools,
Denver Public Schools are still in the process of securing Reading Recovery
teachers. In the past, the program has been funded exclusively by federal,
state and local dollars. This is the first private support the program
has received in Colorado.
Denver Public School Superintendent Dr. Jerry Wartgow says, "It is
crucial to get these kids excited about reading early on in their school
careers, and Reading Recovery has already helped so many of our students
connect with books. DPS is most grateful to the Morgridge Family for providing
the funds that will make it possible for us to make this successful program
available to many more students in the Denver Public Schools."
John Morgridge and his family are active Colorado philanthropists with
a family history of supporting charitable causes across the country, including
environmental, public service and educational programs. Morgridge works
with the Governor's Office of Innovation and Technology and is Co-Chair
of the Colorado Technology Alliance.
The Morgridge Family Fund is a Donor Advised Fund of The Denver Foundation.
This 76-year-old Foundation was established to improve the quality of
life within the six-county metropolitan Denver area through philanthropy,
leadership and community. The Foundation is a community endowment –
a permanent pool of money contributed by numerous local donors to benefit
charitable causes. It invests endowment funds received from donors, distributes
money to community non-profit organizations, and manages and administers
funds for individuals and families that make specific charitable donations.
For more information about The Denver Foundation, its donors and its grantees,
please visit The Foundation’s Web site at www.denverfoundation.org.
Reading Recovery was developed in the 1960s by New Zealand educator and
researcher Dr. Marie M. Clay, and the program has spread to Australia,
the United States, Canada and Great Britain. Since the introduction of
Reading Recovery in the United States, more than one million American
first graders have participated in the program. For more information on
this program nationally, visit the Reading Recovery Web site at www.readingrecovery.com.
Media Contact: Anya K. Breitenbach (303) 672-4355
Tiffany Cooley (303)300-1790, ext. 121