Workshops to Focus on Teaching Phonics

Successful ways of teaching reading and writing to all levels of students will be the focus of a series of workshops by the Ventura County superintendent of schools office.

Each four-hour session will offer teachers and school administrators particular emphasis on phonics instruction, said county schools chief Charles Weis.

Other topics include identifying young children with reading problems, creating tutoring programs for problem learners and specializing instruction for bilingual children.

“I am convinced that nearly all children can learn to read by the end of the third grade . . . if teachers and administrators are provided the tools to get the job done,” Weis said.

The workshops come in response to a state report released in October showing that many new teachers are not adequately prepared to teach phonics as part of a comprehensive reading program, Weis said.

The task force report concluded that phonics instruction is critical for many young learners, even though the state has been moving toward a literature-based reading framework for the past eight years.

The three sessions will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 6, Feb. 13 and April 24. The cost for individual sessions is $35. A $95 series registration fee includes binder, materials and dinner.

The sessions will be led by Ventura County teachers who have been recognized as successful instructors of reading and writing, Weis said. A one-day companion workshop for school administrators, called “Promotion of Early Literacy,” is scheduled for Nov. 28.

For more information, call Diane Dempwolf at 388-4410.