What Georgia discovered through a thorough review of its education system in 1996 was that learning to read was critical if students were to achieve academically. The Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Board of Education decided that the single most important subject for students to master to succeed in school was reading, said Linda Schrenko, Georgia Superintendent of Schools. From those insights in 1996 Georgia s Reading First Program was created. The results have been good.
Students are checking more books out of the library and special education placements are down.
Today s event was the second in a series of field hearings as Congress prepares for action on President George W. Bush s top priority, education reform. Georgia s reading program is similar to what Bush has pushed for at the national level. As the president has said, reading is becoming a new civil right, said Bill Hammond, director of instructional coordination in DeKalb County Schools. The president has proposed a reading initiative that takes into account many key elements of a successful reading policy. I believe that President Bush s Reading First program is the best thing to come out of the United States Department of Education since its inception, Schrenko said.