JeneneAlexander. M.S., N.C.S.P .• l.P.c. Ass' t. Prof. Pat Bashaw. M.Ed. Ass' t. Prof. Clara Carroll, Ed.D. Ass' t. Prof. & Dir.fProfessional Field Services Bobby Coker. Ed.D. Distinguished Prof. Maribeth Downing. Ph.D. Professor Connie Elrod, M.Ed. Asst. Prof. & Dir.fCurriculum Lab Ed Higginbotham, Ed.D. Asso. Prof. Jim Johnston. Ed.D. Asso. Prof. Donny Lee, Ed.D. Asso. Prof. Teresa Mcleod. M.Ed. Ass ' t. Prof./Special Ed. Jan Morgan. Ed.D. Asso . Prof. & Oir./Middle and Teacher Ed. Jim Nichols, Ed.D. Prof. & Dir.fGrad. Studies Jeanine Peck, Ed.D. Professor , Carolyn Priest, M.Ed. Inst .l Readi~g Christine Pruitt. M.Ed. Inst.lReading Gordon Sutherlin, Ed.D. Professor Linda Thornton, Ed .D. Ass 't. Prof. & Admin . Ass 't.lOean Betty Watson, Ed.D. Oisring. Prof. & Dir. Early Childhood Ed. Peck Teaches Reading the R.LC.H.T. Way Program Helps Teachers Meet Specific and Individual Needs of At-Risk Children After more than 38 years as a reading instructor, Jeanine Peck realized many students lacked the necessary skill s needed to comprehend reading and succeed in the classroom. Two years ago, Peck developed Teaching Reading the R.I.G.H.T. Way, which helps classroom teachers meet the specific and individual needs ofchildren who are at-risk within the classroom setting. enable children to become functional readers . A number ofdifferent teaching components are presented in the program. including the Eclectic Approach to Reading. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity and Visual Reading Strategi es. Students are also provided with learning strategies such as process writing. scaffolding. cubing and locus of control. The ultimare goal of ,he program is to help students who struggle with reading graduate and enabl e them to become productive members of sOCiety. "My work with students led me to underThese strategies allow students to find the method of read ing that works best for them and that they can better control. At the time she began the Reading Individual s Gain Higher-Level Thinking program, Peck was receiving up to 15 calls a week for reading assistance. Peck formatted the R.I.G.H.T. program as an extension of the summer and after-school reading programs she had previously instituted. "My work with students led me to understand [he need to better train teachers. The real source of help should be the classroom, " Peck said. "The most effect ive way to help students is to train the teachers who are wi th the children. " stand the need to better train teachers. The real source of help should be the classroom. The most effective way to help students is to train the teachers who are with the children." -Dr. Jeanine Peck According to Peck, one mill ion students drop out of school eve ry year, usually because they fall behind in their reading skills. The R.I.G.H.T. program strives to reach students before they become so far behind in school or so entrenched in their learning habits that help is difficult to give or ill-received. The program most often serves students who are not so severely behind in their reading skill s that they require special education classes. Instead, many students in the R.I.G.H.T. program have slipped through ,he cracks of the educational sysrem, according to Peck. As a parr of the program, Peck travels to school districts around the state, teaching the program to educators who then present the knowledge to their students. The majority of these students are twO grade levels behind in their read ing skills. "The program is designed to help at-risk children who are behind in reading by using alternative teaching strategies," Peck said. The R.I.G.H.T. program u{ilizesvisual and auditory strategies to With the dedication of instructors like Peck and the ingenuity of educational programs such as RI.G.H.T., these students' education might be salvaged. -Sarah Teery School of Education 61
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