Indiana middle grades schools are restoring reading classes and reading teachers so that they can improve reading scores, reduce drop-out rates, and be prepared for the new emphasis on reading in Grades 4-8.  Questions such as, How are schedules changed to add reading classes?  What reading materials do teachers need to help all students? and Whom can we talk to about setting up a new program? can be answered in three middle grades schools located in northern, central, and southern Indiana.

      Boston Middle School in LaPorte, Jasper Middle School in Jasper, and South Wayne Junior High School in Indianapolis have offered reading classes for many years.  They agreed to pilot developmental reading materials and host visitors to observe classes, see materials, and discuss content and schedules.

      Reading teachers from the three schools began meeting and using new reading materials in the fall of the 2002-2003 school year.  They shared information about various materials, schedules, and other reading activities within their schools.  In the spring of 2003, they

ordered new materials that they needed for the 2003-2004 school year.  These materials are now in use in the schools.