Western Carolina University
Reading Center
Annual Report – July 2006 – June 2007
Submitted by Dr. Barbara Halliwill Bell
Reading Center Director
I. The MISSION of the Reading Center is to promote literacy and improve the quality of literacy education in Western North
Carolina and across the state by providing services, support, resources and information to children, pre-service and in-service teachers,
WCU students, faculty, and staff, and the general public.
II. Goals
Actions
1. Provide
services to
improve the
reading
development of
the children in the
service area.
Provide two sections of
the Reading Enrichment
programs for children in
the area.
III. Method of
Assessment
Parent Surveys.
V. Results of Assessment
VI. Follow-up
100% of parents surveyed were
happy with the results of the oneto-one tutoring their child
received.
Survey results for each semester
are attached.
Continue the program –
number of WCU
students will increase
dramatically for fall ’07
– so even more children
will be able to be
serviced by the program.
Response from
teachers with students
in the program.
The comments from the one
teacher who responded were
very positive. The comments are
attached.
The Reading Center
Director will seek more
ways to seek responses
from teachers,
administrators and
school coordinators.
Responses from
administrators and
No administrator responded.
Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
school coordinators of
the program.
2. Make
resources and
programs
available for
faculty, students
and in-service
teachers.
Support was provided for
the Graham County GearUp program through
providing on-site inservice for Graham
county Middle School
teachers and through
work with the Gear-Up
coordinator to plan and
provide a week (June 1015) on campus which will
include both literacy and
cultural experiences, as
well as direct experiences
to expand background
and world knowledge.
Increase number of new
and relevant resources for
students, faculty and
staff.
Offer book club ordering
Follow-up
When the Director has
multiple responses,
sharing results with
administrators, teachers
and school program
coordinators will be
more beneficial.
Responses from
students and
coordinator.
On-going.
Number of books
added to the Reading
Center Resources.
Approximately 350 to 400 new
books were added to the Reading
Center this school year.
Continue to add new
books and remove
unused or outdated
resources.
Number of book
orders, including total
Over 1,100 books were ordered.
Continue to provide
book club ordering
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Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
for WCU students,
faculty and staff.
dollar amount.
$6,753 of book orders were
processed.
possibilities and more
widely disseminate
information about book
ordering.
Survey attached.
5 surveys were returned.
Those who had used the Reading
Center and its resources were
very satisfied. Those who had
not used the Reading Center
planned to start.
Send out more
information about what
resources available and
ask all of CEAP who
teach education courses
for resource suggestions.
Survey faculty for Send out survey to
suggestions about faculty.
how the Reading
Center can
provide better
service.
Install software that will
allow resources to be
listed on the Reading
Center Website for better
access to resources.
Collaborate with the
Hunter Library
Instructional Materials
Lab Supervisor to
coordinate (and not
repeat) resources and
services.
Meet with Beth
Donough, the new
supervisor of the
Instructional
Materials Lab.
The Reading Center Director and
Beth Donough have had several
successful meetings, as well as
phone calls and emails.
Continue this
collaboration. The
Reading Center Director
will become a member
of the Instructional
Materials Advisory
committee and the
Instructional Materials
Supervisor will become
a member of the Reading
Center Advisory Team.
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Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
3. Provide
support for inservice teachers
through
professional
development in
literacy.
Plan and manage the
Pathways to Literacy
Conference.
Participant
Surveys.
On surveys, the 50 participants
who completed evaluations
indicated a high level of
satisfaction.
Evaluation questions
will be revamped for
2007 survey so more
appropriate data can be
collected.
Plans for the 2007
Pathways Conference
are in progress.
Speakers, dates, and
location have been
chosen. Flyers are in
process.
Provide in-service for
teachers, teaching
assistants and tutors.
Over 50 hours of onsite in-service was
provided to more than
60 teachers, teaching
assistants and tutors.
Comments from
administrators and
coordinators.
Positive comments from the one
administrator who responded are
attached.
Continue offering inservice.
Offer help and support in
the choosing of
developmentally
appropriate materials,
which fit the needs of the
learner and the goals of
the pre/in-service teacher.
Numbers of students
checking out
materials and seeking
help.
1352 students and faculty
‘signed in’ as they came to use
the Reading Center. Many
others did not ‘sign in’.
To determine a more
accurate way to assess
number of students,
faculty, staff and public
who use the Reading
Center. Possibly look
into a people counter.
4. / 5. Provide
services to
support WCU
undergraduate
and graduate preservice and inservice teachers
in their teaching
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Goals
and learning of
literacy and their
careers in
teaching.
6. Make
appropriate
clientele aware of
the services
offered by the
Reading Center.
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
Offer support in passing
the reading section of the
Praxis I required test for
admission.
Number of students
and amount of time
tutoring education
students in reading for
the Praxis I test.
Tutoring was provided for 7
students seeking help in passing
the reading section of Praxis I.
Approximately 5 to 8 hours were
spent with each student.
Continue this effort.
Work with David Strahan
and Terre Folger on an
on-line Middle Grades
Reading course to be
offered to NC-Teach and
MAT students.
Work completed so
far.
This work is in the planning
stage. The Reading Center
Director has numerous readings
already on Web Cat specifically
for middle grades reading.
Continue this effort.
Find a middle grades
practicing teacher who is
willing to help with the
on-line Middle Grades
Reading Course.
Make contact with a
middle grades
practicing language
arts teacher.
Contact has been made with
April Bryson who has agreed to
help with this class.
Maintain a website which
explains the services,
resources and programs
offered by the Reading
Center as well as existing
opportunities for
continuing education.
Changes made to the
Reading Center’s
Website.
Both the Reading Center
Administrative Support
Associate and the Reading
Center Director have worked
with Sue Grider to learn how to
make changes to the website.
Both the ASA and the
Director will continue
their work with Sue
Grider to update,
upgrade and maintain the
Reading Center Website.
Many changes have been made
to the Reading Center’s Website.
Pictures of WCU students
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Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
working with children in the
Reading Enrichment Program
have been included. Links
taking browsers to lists of
websites for more information,
booklists, strategies for teaching
reading, the list of multicultural
books available in the Reading
Center, as well as a list of books
available for check-out to use as
literature circle books have all
been added to the website.
Follow-up
Continue to make
additions and changes to
the website.
Install software that will
allow resources to be
listed on the Reading
Center Website for better
access to resources.
Continue to inform
appropriate public school
personnel of website
address so they may
include it as a link on
their website.
7.Support
summer courses
and programs
across campus
and at distance
education sites.
Support
recruitment and
To design a brochure for
the Reading Center.
Work done on the
brochure for the
Reading Center.
An outline of the brochure is
being prepared.
Continue work on the
brochure.
Provide resources and
support for courses –
especially in BKEMGE
and CEAP in general as
well as courses and
programs across campus
and at distance education
sites.
How many courses
supported.
The Reading Center has/will
support 8 courses out of
BKEMGE this summer.
Find ways to inform
more faculty and
program coordinators of
support available from
the Reading Center.
Help find or order
resources requested
by summer school
faculty.
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Goals
retention through
being available to
consult with
current students
and new or
transfer students.
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
Support the Graham
County Gear-up College
101 program during the
planning period and
during the week on
campus.
Feedback from
Graham County gearUp coordinator and
from instructors from
EMGE whose work
the Reading Center
supported.
In Process.
Determine what went
well and changes needed
to be made for next
year’s planning and
implementation.
Marylou Matoush, EMGE
faculty, April Bryson, Jackson
County 8th grade language arts
teacher and the Reading Center
Director have collaborated on
preliminary research in Ms.
Bryson’s classroom. The
research focused on
comprehension, critical literacy
and visual literacy. Their
proposal to NCTE’s ‘Literacies
for All’ conference to present
their on-going research was
accepted. The presentation will
Ongoing.
Work with students who
call, drop by or are sent to
me by the EMGE
departmental secretary,
the Admissions Office,
the Registrar’s Office, the
Graduate School or other
departments in CEAP.
8. To examine the Collaborate with other
Research taken part
nature of
faculty, graduate and
in.
practices which
undergraduate students
are proving
and in-service teachers to
successful in
conduct and report
Research reported.
teaching reading, research.
especially with
students who
have not
previously read
well.
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Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
be in July, 2007.
Coordinate Reading
Number of successful
Center resources and
research projects from
activities with other
EDRD 631.
WCU initiatives.
Specifically to collaborate
with graduate students to
support their research in
their own classrooms
through the required
project in EDRD 631
(graduate course taught
each summer by the
Reading Center Director)
and with the culminating
research course in the
Elementary and Middle
Grades MAED in
Education Program. To
support and help
implement initiatives in
the teaching of reading in
their classes and design,
carry out and report
findings of collaborative
research in order to
improve the body of
existing knowledge about
best practice in reading
instruction.
Over 20 students completed their
research project in EDRD 631
with the help of Reading Center
Resources and the Reading
Center Director.
Continue the
requirement for EDRD
631. Develop a research
project rubric that will
yield useful data.
Continue to provide the
support of the Reading
Center and its Director.
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Goals
Actions
Method of
Assessment
Submit a research grant to
continue research
Write a grant –
collaborating with
Marylou Matoush and
April Bryson to
support our on-going
research.
Collaborate with
colleague to research and Submit column.
review new outstanding
books for adolescents for
column in NCTE’s
Language Arts monthly
journal.
Results of Assessment
Follow-up
NCTE Research Grant was
submitted June 14, 2007.
Continue to seek ideas
for research and grant
possibilities.
Column submitted and printed in
July 2006 journal.
Not on-going. The
three-year term as
editors for “Books for
Children” ended with
that column.
VII. Stakeholders Involvement:
o Public School Partners – Reading Center Advisory Board
o Faculty – Reading Center Team
VIII. The Reading Center Director is responsible for the annual assessment
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