IMPROVING LITERACY SKILLS AT CAMPUS WEST

Murder mysteries, fantasies, and scary stories—that's what seventh- and eighth-graders veer toward when asked to choose works of literature to read, said Ellen Friedland, assistant professor of elementary education and reading. She co-coordinates the Campus West Adolescent Literacy Project, which has assisted 21 at-risk learners since fall 2001.

Through the project, each student receives a set of books to read and keep, along with 36 tutoring sessions. It's all part of a comprehensive effort to improve attitudes toward and skills in reading and writing. "The good news is that so many wanted to continue with the program (beyond the first year), because they see that it helps them," said Friedland.

The project also involves Buffalo State secondary education students, 40 of whom have served as volunteer tutors. Although they major in various content areas, they are all enrolled in EDU 416: Teaching Literacy in the Middle and Secondary Schools. The college students use the strategies they learn in class in their tutoring, and they also reflect on their experiences. "This opportunity for preservice teachers to try out literacy strategies with a student is an invaluable experience they normally would not have," Friedland said.

This is just one of several partnerships between Buffalo State and Campus West, a Buffalo public school located on the campus. Campus West partners with the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education (CEURE) as a Professional Development School and as a member of the Urban Teacher Network. The adolescent literacy project is co-coordinated by CEURE director Diane Truscott. It was awarded a $2,000 CEURE School Improvement Minigrant, funded by the John R. Oishei Foundation, to purchase books and to foster students' technological literacy.

Generous support also is provided by Project FLIGHT, a family literacy program located on campus, which donated more than 2,000 books geared toward at-risk early adolescents.

Through student and teacher surveys, interviews, and Terra Nova test scores, the coordinators are researching students' attitudes toward literacy and tutoring, as well as their literacy achievement.

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