The Changing Role of the Reading Specialist in School Reform

Abstract

Recently, a new role for the reading specialist has been suggested for schools with large numbers of struggling readers. This role conceptualizes the reading specialist not as some one who works directly with students (Quatroche, Bean, & Hamilton, 2001) but as someone who works directly with teachers as a coach and mentor. In this new role the reading specialist supports teachers in their daily work?planning, modeling, team-teaching, and providing feedback on com pleted lessons in collaboration with classroom teachers in a school. In addition, the reading spe cialist assists teachers by helping them understand the assessment and instructional cycle and how that cycle can help them as they develop lessons and or ganize their classes for instruction. In the No Child Left Behind legislation, the Reading First Initiative views reading coaches as a viable and important professional development component for Reading First schools in the United States (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). The purpose of this article is to discuss the changing role of reading specialists and their po tential new role as reading coaches. The article be gins with a discussion of the traditional role of the reading specialist as Title I teacher as it evolved un der the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and the new role of the reading specialist as coach under Title I of the new ESEA of 2000.1 also discuss research on the benefits of coaches in the professional development of teach ers. In the second half of the article I discuss what reading coaches can do in schools. I end with some rules of thumb for effectiveness based on the ex periences of reading coaches.