Roseville High Placing New Emphasis on Reading

Academic leaders at Roseville Area High School will be placing a new twist on the old saw about school days and “reading, writing and ‘rithmetic.” 

Reading comes first, they said. If students can’t read, they can’t write, or understand math, science and social studies. If students can’t read, they can’t understand or pass student achievement tests, the tests that measure school success.

That’s why Roseville High is embarking on a comprehensive new reading program that will affect students and teachers in all curriculum areas, Principal Jenny Loeck told Roseville Patch recently. The school is implementing new state language arts standards that emphasize effective reading in all subject areas.

“Students need to know how to read and write in each discipline,” said Loeck.  “A well-written test in English is different from a well-written test in science.”

The program also aims to narrow the achievement gap between Caucasian students and student of color, said Amy Dahlin, a language arts teacher who serves as RAHS reading staff development coordinator. “I realized through my own teaching experience that better reading skills can be taught to students at all skill levels,” she said.

That realization prompted Dahlin to research reading and its relationship to the achievement gap. 

“The public discussion about the achievement gap really comes down to how students perform on state achievement tests,” Dahlin said.  The outcome of those tests determine student success and define the achievement gap, she added. 

“In addition to testing content knowledge, the science test requires students to be strong readers in order to do well.  The writing test is really about reading. How do you respond clearly to what you read?”

Dahlin approached Loeck last year and proposed the district’s summer reading program – once reserved for advanced placement students – be extended to all students in the high school.

Loeck readily agreed, and the district provided books – purchasing six titles for each grade level. The Ramsey County Public Library partnered with program, also providing multiple copies for every grade level.  “The library has been so helpful. So willing to help us provide books for all students,” she said.   

Dahlin, who was on the state team that developed language arts standards for students, will lead RAHS teachers in developing reading techniques and strategies that will work in teaching content in each discipline area.

“Reading used to be taught by the English Department, and the English Department alone. But each discipline has its own language, and students need to understand that language,” said Loeck. The staff development program, she said, will help teachers develop a similar instructional style, and common languages that will help them teach and assess student reading.

Students, in turn, will know what is expected of them – what constitutes good writing in a chemistry class, for example.

“We believe in making kids experts in their disciplines, helping them to know what’s going on in their fields, giving kids authentic experiences,” Dahlin said. Reading skills for kids are essential in that endeavor, she emphasized.