Description:
California Early, Extended and Second Chance literacy programs are designed to improve students' overall academic achievment by enhancing literacy learning through Professional Development. The program trains teachers to develop more effective practices in regards to literacy curriculum. CELL (preK-3) focuses on teaching reading and writing in the primary grades; ExLL (3-8)spans into the role of literacy instruction across content areas without losing sight of issues related to beginning readers and writers who may be struggling; Second Chance training (6-12) addresses content areas as well as Special Education, secondary English and small group interventions (www.cell-exll.com).

Goal:
CELL, ExLL, and Second Chance have been developed with the strong belief that improved classroom instruction and increased student achievement are best achieved by providing more support and professional development for teachers. Helping teachers become more effective in their work is the primary goal. The training programs are based on a high level of confidence in the ability of teachers to become more powerful in their teaching, given appropriate training and long term support (http://www.cell-exll.com/overview.htm).

Approach:
Teachers are trained to use a gradual decline of teacher support and a gradual increase in student independence based on demonstrated student capability. This reduction of teacher support is based on observations of individual student growth and understanding the process of literacy. The student's use of a variety of problem-solving strategies is supported through good teacher decision-making about ways to assist each student toward the goal of independence. The elements of the instructional frameworks are designed to help each student and the whole class move together toward that goal. The frameworks have been designed to structure classrooms that use literacy activities throughout the day of every school day. Other curricular areas are delivered using literacy activities as the method of instruction. The frameworks include oral language, phonology, higher-order thinking skills, reading and writing activities, and test-taking strategies. (http://www.cell-exll.com/overview.htm)

research:
A research report spanning ten years of CELL can be found at:
http://www.stanswartz.com/foundationresearchreport1.htm.

The report has been compiled by the director of The Foundation for Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning, Stanley Swartz. The research in this report used various designs, including random assignment and quasi-experimental, and various sources of data. These included:
publicly reported accountability measures, self-studies conducted by participating schools and districts,results of student testing required as part of the training, and focus studies requested by the Foundation and conducted by participating schools.

Data from selected schools, while not gathered as part of methodologically rigorous evaluations, suggest a pattern of improved reading achievement across a variety of measures in schools adopting CELL/ExLL. For example, from 1992-93 through 1994-95, six Title I schools using Reading Recovery recorded minimal improvements in first-grade CTBS reading scores. After the first year of CELL Implementation in 1995-96, the average score across the six schools increased from the 28th to the 45th percentile. At another Title I school implementing CELL, students in grades K-2 all improved their grade-equivalent scores on the Observation Survey by considerably more than a year from fall to spring. The second-grade class made over two years’ improvement. From 1992-93 through 1994-95, four schools using CELL and Reading Recovery witnessed a drop in special education referrals from 3.2 percent of students to 1.5 percent. Over the same period, referrals at three comparison schools using just Reading Recovery stayed level, and referrals at three comparison schools using neither program rose from 3.2 percent to 3.7 percent.

Other data indicate that schools implementing CELL/ExLL to the fullest extent improve more than schools with partial implementation. Additionally, mathematics scores at some CELL/ExLL schools have risen along with reading scores (nwrel.org).

Costs:
Direct costs include training, materials, and conference fees. School-based planning teams attend six one-day (one every other month) for $5,000.

A Literacy coordinator will cost $12,000 for four weeks scheduled at CELL demonstration sites (in California, Wyoming, and Utah)and one week at the West Coast Literacy Conference.

Training for the school staff will cost $45,000 ($15,000 per school if a minimum of 3 schools train together). In addition, professional books will cost $300 per teacher and attendance at a Literacy conference will cost $195 per teacher. Schools also have to fund the literacy coordinator’s salary (half-time) and travel and release time for teachers to attend training sessions. For schools adopting both CELL and ExLL, two literacy coordinators are required, one for the primary grades and one for the intermediate grades. In smaller schools it is possible for one literacy coordinator to support PreK-6, but this requires additional training (www.nwrel.org).