The Joint Venture:

They couldn't read. The teachers knew. The parent (s) knew. The children knew. For whatever the reasons: readiness, lack of maturity, home distractions, conflicts, poor nutrition, sight or hearing deficiencies, and familial expectations. The reason was of no matter. What to do, how to do it? It was the ultimate dilemma for all.

The teachers, Kindergarten, first grade were following their training, the curriculum, doing all that was expected and more. Some of their students just couldn’t make the grade.

So many of the parent(s) sent their children to school without knowing, having no inkling of their possible contribution to the process. The school site was an alien setting for many parents.

These children came to school; found that school time was only passable through the fun and games that were interspersed during their learning day. For some the school experience was painful. Recess was no relief. Their attendance was poor.

The first grade teachers tested, they had to make it official, they already knew who couldn't read grade level.
A list was compiled, from the bottom up. 0.0 first. Can you believe that after two years of school? It's true. It's sad. Furthermore, we proposed that as soon as students reached grade level by year and month they would be transfered to a standard second grade classroom and the next student would be transfered into our program. The on-going testing was done by the Reading Specialist. Her expertise enabled her to evaluate continously, individually. No class testing which would interrupt the flow of the program.  Additionally, students who couldn't achieve two years of reading skills in a year of the program would be kept in the program but promoted to third grade.

 So, we selected our first 30 children, and before their inclusion in this program, we called every parent met personally with some, and followed up via a letter that explained the design and thrust of the program. Their approval and participation had to be mandatory. We were greeted to a 100 % positive response. They all wanted their children to recover the missing basic skills for future success in school.