Caption, Laura Lyons (seated) and Kathryne Salinas.
Laura Lyons, Lamar CISD's Executive Director for Elementary Education, received the Advocate for Excellence in Literacy Award at the Billie J. Askew Reading Recover and K-6 Literacy Institute.
Lyons received the award Nov. 4 in Dallas at the Reading Recovery Conference. She was nominated by Kathryne Salinas, the Teacher Leader for Lamar CISD’s Reading Recovery / Descubriendo la Lectura program.
The Award is given annually to honor an administrator who has consistently contributed to the success of Reading Recovery in their school districts.
Lyons began the program in Lamar CISD when she became executive director.
“I had first-hand experience with Reading Recovery when I was a principal,” Lyons said. “When I became executive director, I knew it was a program that could help so many of our children.”
Reading Recovery is a short-term Early Literacy Intervention for first graders identified as having difficulty learning to read and write.
Children receive intensive, individualized instruction from a trained Reading Recovery teacher.
Reading Recovery students receive a 30-minute lesson each school day for 12 to 20 weeks.
As soon as students can read within the average range of their class and continue independent literacy learning in the regular classroom, their lessons are discontinued and new students begin individual instruction.
Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL) is the Reading Recovery® program for first graders receiving their initial literacy instruction in Spanish.
Spanish-speaking students in bilingual classrooms who struggle to learn to read and write receive intensive, individualized instruction in Spanish from certified bilingual teachers who are trained to work with early literacy in Spanish.
Lamar CISD has 12 Reading Recovery campuses and 650 students have been served since 2011.