While it is true that students who struggle with reading can lose important ground during the summer, it is possible to help these students hold onto the previous school year's learning as well as gain new ground to put them ahead for fall. Written by Marti Richardson, a past president of the National Staff Development council and a recognized leader in professional development and curriculum development, Succeeding With Struggling Students details the development and implementation process for a summer reading lab. Designed around a learn-it-teach-it cycle, the lab combines professional development for teachers--to develop their facility with research-based interventions and immediate classroom practice--with the specific interventions to benefit struggling students.
With each component of the summer intervention lab blueprint, Richardson offers a description of the model program she developed for her district. For administrators, staff developers, and curriculum directors, she provides a set of questions to assist their district and school teams customize the blueprint to their specific goals, needs, and requirements.