November 06, 2024
BY BEN GAGNON
The County Press, 810-452-2661
DRYDEN — During October, Dryden Elementary School had a three-day professional development session from a representative with the University of Delaware.
Dr. Jaime True Daley, associate director of Content- Specific Curriculum Supports for the University of Delaware’s School Success Center, had the opportunity to spend several days with Dryden Elementary teachers, observing in classrooms, meeting with grade level teams and facilitating building-level professional learning.
“Dr. Daley’s visit was inspiring,” said Dryden Elementary literacy coach Karen Roys. “She supported us with further ways to meet student’s needs and accelerate learning. She gave such positive feedback during the observations. She kept using the word ‘impeccable.’”
Daley’s visit was in conjunction with the elementary’s ELA professional learning plan for the 2024-2025 school year, continuing with existing efforts to shore up student’s foundational skills and enhancing the implementation of Bookworms Reading and Writing K-5 curriculum. Dr. Sharon Walpole from the University of Delaware is a reading researcher and the creator of the curriculum.
Dr. Jaime Daley with the University of Delaware held professional learning sessions for teachers at Dryden Elementary last month. Photos provided
Dryden Elementary adopted Bookworms in the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. After an initial training and a year of implementation, feedback from teachers and students was positive. That’s when a partnership with the University of Delaware was made.
“Bookworms is unique. It has an enormous amount of content-rich texts and the instructional practices are strongly based in reading science,” said Kristal White, a literacy coach and early literacy consultant with the Lapeer County Intermediate School District. “We wanted to continue to support our teachers and continue growing in our instructional practices.”
Dryden Elementary has two other opportunities scheduled this school year to continue learning from Daley and the University of Delaware.
“We are definitely looking forward to it. Powerful learning for students requires powerful learning for teachers,” said White.