National Reading Panel (NRP) - About the NRP

The National Reading Panel met in New York City on Tuesday, June 23, 1998 at the Proshansky Auditorium at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

The New York meeting was chaired by Panelist Linnea Ehri. Those Panelists also in attendance were Gloria Correro, Gwenette Ferguson, Norma Garza, Michael Kamil, Cora Marrett, Sally Shaywitz, Joanna Williams, and Joanne Yatvin. Also attending was Panel Executive Director F. William Dommel, Jr.

The meeting was called to order by George Gaines, liaison officer for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health at 9:34 a.m.

Dr. Ehri offered welcoming remarks, introduced the members of the National Reading Panel and explained the charge of the of the National Reading Panel as directed by the US Congress.

She also explained that the presentations that individuals make are limited to 15 minutes, with five additional minutes for questions from the Panel. Following the scheduled presentation, the floor will be opened for public comment, which will be limited to five minutes per person.

The Panel first heard from Virginia McEnerney, director of community relations for Time Warner Inc. and operator of the company's literacy program "Time to Read."

She detailed the "Time to Read" program – a program where Time Warner volunteers sit down and read with children identified by the local school districts – and the positive effects it has had on both the students and volunteers involved.

The Panel next heard from Trika Smith-Burke, a professor at New York University representing the Reading Recovery Council of North America.

She stressed the need for collaboration between teachers, staff developers, parents, teacher educators, educational administrators, and researchers. She also discussed now classroom teaching makes the difference in teaching reading to children.

The Panel next heard from Miriam Balmuth, professor and coordinator of the reading program at the School of Education at Hunter College of CUNY.

She spoke about the challenges facing teacher educators – identifying the best methods for teaching reading and the need to identify specific reading goals from grade to grade. She also asked that the Panel correct the misguided desire to focus on the one best method of instruction for teaching reading.

The Panel next heard from Stephen Perepeluk, director of literacy for the New York City Board of Education.

He spoke about his perspective as a school administrator in New York City in regard to early literacy programs, with a focus on New York's new comprehensive literacy program, "Project Read." He detailed New York’s goal of getting every student reading by the end of the third grade. He also detailed three specific foci of "Project Read" – providing extra time for children with reading difficulties, using "best practices," and the involvement of parents.

The Panel next heard from Dick Allington, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany representing the International Reading Association.

He discussed the concerns he had with the Panel's charge and efforts and how they related to the NRC Report. Allington made a distinction between how kids learn (included in the NRP charge) and what instructional conditions are best and which teachers provide the optimal conditions for learning to read.

The Panel next heard from Emerson Dickman, secretary of the International Dyslexia Association, professional advisory board member of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and a special-education advocate for children with special needs.

He spoke of his work as an advocate for children with special needs and the problems he encounters while dealing with local school districts, specifically dyslexia diagnoses. He explained that the key to providing appropriate education is informed instruction.

The Panel next heard from Ken Pugh, representing Haskings Laboratory in Connecticut and Yale University School of Medicine.

He discussed the integration between long-term behavioral research on reading and reading disability and the initial investigations of the underlying neurobiological factors. He explained that cognitive processes – such as word identification and going from "eye to meaning" – have a number of subcomponent operations that need to be addressed when working with the reading disabled.

The Panel next heard from Catrice Davis, a paraprofessional with the New York City Board of Education and a representative of Reading is Fundamental.

She said it should be the goal of all parents and educators to make their children lifelong readers. She detailed the value that programs such as Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) have on teaching children to read.

The Panel next heard from Antwan Allen, a high school student and a representative of Reading is Fundamental.

Allen spoke about the benefits of RIF – such as encouraging reading among chidren and providing them free books –and the importance reading plays in his life. He also stressed the importance of children having choices among books they read and being introduced to a variety of reading subjects.

The Panel then heard from Robert Williams, development director at St. Agnes Boys High School in New York City.

Williams noted that the problem is not getting children to learn to read, but rather how to get them to continue reading. He detailed his personal experiences of being made to read as a child and how valuable it was.

Following a lunch break from 12:52 p.m. until 1:30 p.m., Dr. Ehri reconvened the meeting. She began the afternoon session by inviting those present to provide public comments.

The Panel first heard from Miriam Westheimer from the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). She spoke about the important role parents play in their childrens' lives, particularly in the early years, and how HIPPY encourages parents to play a significant role in early literacy activities for their children.

The Panel next heard from Shelley Levy, a staff developer with the New York City Public School System, District 75. She detailed a literacy initiative used in her district, "Great Books - A Guide for Reading and Teaching with Books."

The Panel next heard from Charles Leventhal, a professor of psychology at Hofstra University. He discussed his research of the phonological processes that underlie the ability to read.

The Panel next heard from Beth Petit, the executive director of the St. Aloyisius Education Clinic in Central Harlem and a representative of Reading Is Fundamental. She spoke about her experience running a RIF program in Central Harlem.

The Panel next heard from Katherine Garnett, representing the Division for Children with Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children, the Hunter College Program on Learning Disabilities, and the Edison Project Nationwide System of Schools. She spoke about two essential components of reading - the "cognitive act" and the "cultural activity."

The Panel next heard from Joanne Wilson-Keenan, a language arts teacher from the public schools in Springfield, Massachusetts and a research team member at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She discussed her work as program director of the "Springfield Learning Community Collaborative," a partnership of teachers students, families, and the university designed to "change the relationships between urban families and schools."

The Panel then heard from John Deveaux, an advisory board member of the National Institute for Literacy. He spoke about the importance of teaching adults to read and urged the Panel to include adult literacy in their focus.

The Panel then heard from Bill Nagy, a professor at Seattle Pacific University. He discussed the importance that vocabulary knowledge plays in reading comprehension.

The Panel next heard from Susan Stires, a part-time staff developer in District 2 at PS-1 in New York City and a representative of the National Council of Teachers of English. She spoke to the importance of using both "phonology" and "meaning making" in teaching children to read.

The Panel next heard from Ally Sullo, editorial director of Reading Language Arts at Houghton-Mifflin Company. She detailed some of the gaps and unanswered questions left by the National Research Council report, and asked the Panel to fill those shortcomings.

A brief recess was taken from 2:53 p.m. to 3:12 p.m.

The Panel next heard from Kathleen Brown, a professor at the University of Utah. She detailed her research on reading instruction to help prepare early childhood educators to teach beginning readers and writers. She stated the research says that relying on context to teach reading is an "unreliable, inefficient strategy."

The Panel then heard from Jennifer Monoghan, a professor from Brooklyn College and founder of the History of Reading Special Interest Group. She asked the Panel to look at the entire literacy issue as more than just reading. It includes writing as well.

The Panel next heard from Rick Blake, vice president of the school division of the Association of American Publishers. He detailed the role educational publishers play in both the literacy effort and in outreach to key stakeholder groups, especially their role of the translators of theory to practice.

The Panel next heard from Paula Costello, past president and current conference chairperson of the New York State Reading Association. She detailed the work of the New York Reading Association, its goals, and how those goals aligned with the mission of the Panel.

The Panel next heard from Gail August, a doctoral student in linguistics at the CUNY Graduate Center. She asked the Panel to remember that not everyone learning to read or to improve their reading is five years old or a native speaker of English.

The Panel then heard from Sheldon Horowitz of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. He focused on the importance of getting the Panel's findings to each of the stakeholder groups -- the different segments of the educator market, those who do training and professional development, those who manage schools, those who create instructional materials, and those who service clearing houses and network functions.

The Panel lastly heard from Maureen Scanlon, a teacher in the New York City public schools. She stressed the importance of ongoing professional development with the teachers.

Dr. Ehri then offered closing remarks, thanking those who had attended and who had made the meeting possible. She assured the audience that their written and verbal statements would be shared with the panelist who were unable to attend.

The National Reading Panel meeting in New York then concluded at 3:53 p.m.

Name - Affiliation
Emerson Dickman
Robert Williams - St. Agnes Boys High School
E. Jennifer Morgan - English ESL College
Stephen Perepeluk - NYL BA of Education
Virginia McEnemery - Time Warner
Miriam Balmuth - School of Education Hunter College
Trika Smith-Burke - NYU
Dick Allington - Center for English Learning & Achievement
Ken Pyhg - Yale University/Haskens Labs
Catrice Davis - RIF
Antrian Allen - RIF
Carthen Daly - WMBC-TV
Ali Sulho - Houghton Mifflin Co.
Nick Miraflores - Dept. of Youth & Community Development
Sherri Horner - CUNY Graduate College
John Pakulski - University of Delaware
Charles Levinthal - Hofstra University
Gail August - Hostos CC Grad. Center
Kathleen Brown - University of Utah
Ralph Tachuk - McGraw Hill School Division
Esther Sands - Reading Reform Foundation
Jacqueline Karlan - Midhudson NYSRA Regional Director
Fritz Tampley - Carnegie Corp. Of NY
Pritta Fonalan - Academy for Educational Dept
Lois Dreyer - Reading Dept. Southern Connecticut State, State University
Dolores Perin - Teachers College Columbia U.
Jo Anne Wilson Keenan - Springfield MA Schools, University of MA Amherst
Sheldon Horowitz - NCLD
Susan Stires - PS1 District 2 Teachers College NCTE
Jo Shepherd - Teachers College Columbia
Ruth Dianes - Crossroads Café, CASE, CUNY Graduate School
Kate Garrett - DLD/CEC
Paula Costello - NYSRA/Williamsville Schools
Peggy Wa - DYLD
Joanna Whry - Fordham University
Camille Gibson - CUNY
Alba Langenthal - CUNY
William Nagy - Seattle Pacific University
Eileen Thompson - McGraw Hill
Dr. Sandra H. Herndan - NYS Education Dept.
Vicki La Rock - McREL
J. Marson Dickerman - Speaker
Halen W. Jiron - SUNY-Albany
Dr. E. Jennifer Managhan - Brooklyn College
Richard Blake - Association of American Publishers
Deborah Kim - Scholastic, Inc.
Myrna Kruuse - St. Francis College
Beth Pettit - St. Aloysius Education Clinic
Miriam Westheimar - Hippy USA
Shelley Levy
Alpana Bhattacharya - CUNY Graduate School