About RIDE

The teaching of reading is a complex task. The RIDE Reading Intervention Bank was developed to enhance the comprehensive research-based reading program and good instruction you are now providing. It was developed to provide you with interventions that will improve the proficiency of those students who have not responded to systemic reading approaches and who exhibit reading difficulties that are interfering with their achievement.

Three very important events have heightened our national awareness of student achievement:

• NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and its Reading First Initiative requires that any school receiving Reading First money must implement a reading program grounded in scientific research.
• IDEIA of 2004 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act) and its Response to Intervention model merges special education into the overall policies of NCLB including sound instructional practices.
• The National Reading Panel findings that established the importance of phonemic awareness in student reading instruction.

With this heightened awareness has come the need for supplemental reading intervention for those Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. RIDE Reading Intervention Bank is aimed at Tier 2 students -- the students who are not making adequate progress in their core reading instruction and need supplemental instruction to bring them up to grade level.

Acknowledgment

The RIDE Reading Intervention Bank is the product of over a two-year collaborative effort between the Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education Division and Sopris West Educational Services. Without the immense effort of each and every person involved, this project could not have come to fruition.

We would first and foremost like to acknowledge and thank the leadership and vision provided by Dr. Howard Knoff, Arkansas State Improvement Grant (SIG) Director. Dr. Knoff’s dedication and expertise has significantly contributed to the quality of this project.

We also wish to acknowledge and thank the project leadership team from the Arkansas Department of Education/Special Education Division, specifically:

• Marcia Harding - Associate Director of Special Education for Arkansas
• Dr. Howard Knoff - Arkansas State Improvement Grant (SIG) Director
• Lisa Haley - Arkansas State Improvement Grant (SIG) Literacy Coordinator

• Susan Friberg - Arkansas State Improvement Grant (SIG) Literacy Consultant
• Rosemary Burks - Arkansas State Improvement Grant (SIG) Literacy Consultant
• Dr. Lynn Springfield, Arkansas Special Education Resource Center Consultant
• Aleecia Starkey, Arkansas Special Education Resource Center Consultant

Without their watchful eyes of expertise and experience and many hours beyond their daily professional duties, this product would not be what it is.

For Sopris West Educational Services, a special thank you to Dr. Steve Kukic, Vice President of Professional Services in collaboration with Dr. Knoff and Ms. Harding for getting this project off the ground and to Rebecca Williamson for bringing it in for a successful completion. Additionally, the considerable help and hard work of the following individuals made this project a reality: from the Sopris West technology and video production department -- Pete Schiller, Stephanie Shawn, Dan Cummiskey, Sarah Beatty, Alyssa Kallal, Bryan Jew and CJ Rogers; the print production department, particularly Kim Harris and last, but certainly not least, to Vicki Clark for organizing, editing, and seeking permissions, dependably and cheerfully.

All who have worked on this project trust that the RIDE Reading Intervention Bank will, indeed, make a positive difference for struggling readers throughout the United States. The success of school children is the reason we all do what we do.