•                                             Welcome to Defer Elementary
                                   Reading Support! 
     
     

    Defer

     

     
     
     
     
     
       
     
    One of the educational services offered to qualifying children of Grosse Pointe Public Schools is support in the area of reading.  This service, designed to aid children in reading, is in addition to classroom reading instruction. 
     
    Students may be recommended for the reading suppport program in several ways:
     
    • teacher recommendation

     

    • parent recommendation

     

        • student performance on standardized tests such as the MEAP

         

        • scores below the 40th percentile on the reading portion of the NWEA (45th percentile in first grade)

         

        Once a student has been recommended, the student has an individual session with the Defer reading specialist. 

        First graders are given six tasks.  To see a description of these tasks, please see the First Grade Testing section.
         
        Second through fifth graders are given a standardized reading test and the Fountas and Pinnell benchmark reading test.  For a more detailed account of these tests please read the Second Through Fifth Grade Testing section.  All qualifying Reading Support students are given the PPVT receptive vocabulary test.  
         
        If a child qualifies, he/she will be invited to attend reading classes.  These classes are recommended, not mandatory. 

        The amount of time a child spends with the reading specialist varies from grade level to grade level.         Kindergarten is seen twice a week for fifteen minutes.  First graders are seen five times a week for thirty minutes.  Second graders are seen five times a week for forty minutes.  Third graders are seen five times a week for thirty minutes.  Fourth and fifth graders attend reading support twice a week.  One session is an hour long and the other is a half hour. 

        Kindergarten through third grade are in Reading Club during part of the classroom language arts block and do not miss direct instruction in the classroom. Fourth and fifth grade Reading Club students miss one recess, one science class and one social studies class a week in order to participate in reading club. 
         
        Students are assessed four times a year in Reading Support Club. They are assessed at the start of the year and at each report card marking.  Reading Club students receive a separate reading report card each marking period as well as the classroom report card. 
         
        Students may enter or exit the Reading Support program at any time during the school year. 

        A teacher or parent may request a benchmark assessment at any point during the school year if there is concern that a child has fallen below grade level.          Parents are always informed before testing by the reading specialist and may accept or decline this service. 
         
        Once a child is at or above grade level he/she may be exited from the program.