Nancy Bentley wants to give her students the information literacy and technology skills they need to succeed in high school. Nancy and the Mann Technology Committee have developed a matrix that identifies the computer and technology skills students should possess at each grade level, with each set of skills laying the foundation for the next. Nancy teams with computer teacher Chuck Freese to mesh technology into all instructional areas. Mike Herr has sponsored weekly community literacy nights in the school's computer lab. With the involvement of Martinez's PTA, which holds monthly parent education nights and book talks, Mike demonstrates literacy programs such as Accelerated Reader.
Parents read a book with their children, then the kids take a quiz about what they read.
Such activities help parents understand the skills that their children are expected to master. Mike believes that making the school's technology accessible supports its mission to be a community school. We want to level the playing field when it comes to technology by giving parents and others the chance to learn and access technology, just as our students are doing. BACK TO TOP WiggleWorks a Primary Favorite Nancy Tindell, a literacy coach at several district elementary schools, loves WiggleWorks - a software package that addresses every aspect of state reading standards. The program helps kids become better readers and writers by drawing them into learning by reading a story or having it read to them before writing their own stories.