Comprehensive Courseware's Waterford Early Reading Program - A Success in Haverstraw - Stony Point School District

"Students are learning basic skills, like directionality and letter sound correspondence, while having a blast." - Ed Garcia, Kindergarten teacher

Gerald Neary Elementary School in the Haverstraw-Stony Point School District is up and running with the Waterford Early Reading Program!


Background
Neary Elementary School has a very diverse population. English is not the primary language of many of their students. Several years ago, a kindergarten teacher piloted the Waterford program with one station in his classroom. The students enjoyed the system so much and showed great improvement in reading skills, the school purchased stations for each one of the kindergarten classrooms the following year. During the summer of 2001, the first and second grade classrooms also received the Waterford program in their classrooms. The 75-station configuration consists of 20 classrooms with 3-4 stations in each classroom.

Professional Development
All teachers received initial professional development in the days before school began in the fall. Since then, the LHRIC BOCES Professional Development Specialist, Caroline Cummings, has worked with teachers and the principal to ensure a successful implementation. On a recent staff development day, teachers were able to share questions and ideas about the program, analyze reports and explore additional pieces of the curriculum. Many said the best part of the session was hearing the recordings that their students made when they read books into the computer. Several Professional Development Specialists were involved on that staff development day in order to accommodate both elementary schools' needs.

"The skills and literature they were learning were supported and reinforced by the computer program" - Elizabeth Borchers, First Grade teacher

The Daily Experience
Students use the Waterford Program for between 15 and 30 minutes every day. This is accomplished by integrating the program into the two-hour reading block in first and second grades. Students use the computers as a “center”. When one group is working with the teacher, another is working on guided reading; one on writing and the fourth group is on the computers. Students are getting the most effective amount of time on task.

Waterford stories abound at Neary. During what she thought was an introduction to verbs, Maria Pages was surprised when her second graders told her that verbs were “action words” and spontaneously burst into the Waterford song “Hop, Skip, Jump”. She said she is finding that the students are being introduced to concepts through the computer, which makes it easier when they encounter them in the classroom instruction.

Impact on Student Performance
The school felt strongly that the higher reading scores of children who were exposed to the Waterford program in kindergarten indicated the need to expand the implementation into each of the elementary schools through the second grade. Elsa Konigsberg (first grade teacher) says, “The Waterford Program reinforces decoding strategies which is very helpful!” Roseanne Moneo (first grade teacher) says “Since the children are constantly singing the tunes, it makes it easier for them to remember and brings its application ‘to life’”.

"When the children are on the computer they enjoy it and can't wait until it's their turn again" - Sandra Harrington, Kindergarten teacher

West Haverstraw Elementary School
Due to the successful implementation at Neary, West Haverstraw Elementary School has also begun implementation of the Waterford Program in their K-2 classrooms. Since they also have a 25-station lab, targeted third grade students have access to the software on a daily basis. Reaction among teachers and students has been the same as at Neary. The teachers and students are thrilled with the program.

About the Waterford Early Reading Program
The Waterford Early Reading Program is a computer based literacy program. It uses technology to overcome obstacles to literacy development for young students, regardless of primary language or beginning level of literacy. Waterford consists of three levels of daily instructional activities for children. The research-based software adapts to each child's learning pace, thus meeting every student's individual needs. The Waterford Program's balanced language arts curriculum addresses key elements of research-based reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension.

"The program material is outstanding" - Maria Rego, Second Grade teacher

In addition to reading, the program also addresses computer skills, speech issues and the need for individualized attention and instruction. Although the software follows the students’ progress and modifies the daily activities to reflect growth, there is very little need for teacher intervention. Teachers print reports periodically and can use the information to alter classroom instruction to address group or individual needs. The offline materials (books, videos, tapes) are available to the students to take home, helping to stimulate a parent connection by involving the family in the learning process.

If you have any questions about the
Waterford Program or the Haverstraw-Stony Point Central School District, please contact Caroline Cummings at ccummings@lhric.org or (914) 332-5560 x28.