CRCS Receives Literary Update

COBLESKILL - On Tuesday evening, the CRCS Board of Education received a report on how the district has been teaching reading comprehension to elementary students and how things have improved.

The room was quick to welcome Colleen Ferrone, the Coordinator of Compensatory Services for CRCS over the last ten years. Mrs. Ferrone has been deeply entrenched in the inner workings of instruction, and enthusiastically presented the State of Literacy for grades K-5.

She began by saying that literacy comprehension in CRCS was already strong when she arrived a decade ago, though two components have been boosting numbers even higher.

The first, named Into Reading, is an adopted system that was carefully curated for its better vocabulary instruction and introductions to writing. Though it is by no means perfect, it is a great deal stronger than the “missing” learning pieces from years ago.

This reading series worked in tandem with another key piece of modern instruction, titled the Science of Reading. This is a body of research that combines work from experts in developmental and educational psychology, as well as cognitive neuroscience.

By implementing the research found, the Science of Reading helps to better teach decoding, which aids students in breaking down the smallest pieces of words and phrases, and general language comprehension for an overall greater outcome.

In the last two years that it has been used, both of these systems have bolstered literacy comprehension by a staggering 60%, allowing more students to make use of one of the greatest fundamental skills they can learn.

As Mrs. Ferrone wrapped up her presentation and thanked the Board for the past ten years, members responded in kind, and gave her a warm farewell with a unified “yeehaw” chant, paying homage to her own enthusiasm.

As the meeting moved on, the Board also heard a brief presentation from a group of students that proposed a 7th grade trip to Boston, MA. 

Leaving on June 18th, the students are looking forward to a day trip to the acclaimed Museum of Science, as well as a quick stop to the Freedom Trail.

The trip was made possible through numerous fundraisers and grants provided by the local community, and the students thanked businesses like Sterling Insurance for the role they played.

Board President Bruce Tryon was the first to respond, saying “I have no issues with you guys going. Boston is a fantastic city.” 

The sentiment was quickly backed by the other members, and the outing was approved without hesitation.