Mission Statement | History | Current Operation | Teachers | Students | RITE Program
Evaluation | Cost and Funding | Awards and Accomplishments | RITE Scores | Additional RITE Information
Nadine Kujawa, a leader in special education and behavioral intervention at earlier grade levels, has joined the Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence as executive director.
Kujawa recently retired as the Aldine Independent School District Superintendent, one of Houston’s largest and most diverse school districts. She has been with AISD since 1962.
“Nadine is bringing an incredible set of skills and the perfect type of experience to RITE,” said Jack Lyons, chairman/president of RITE. “Her dedication to Houston’s youth is in line with the RITE program, and her vision will help grow RITE into a successful future.”
The Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence™ was organized to implement a training program for teachers with specialized reading and classroom skills primarily for students in pre-kindergarten classes through third grade.
The Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence was founded as a pilot project by the leadership of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ in 1997 to address problems of low levels of academic achievement and the high dropout rates in many Houston area schools. Research showed that reading is the key to academic achievement with early intervention being the single most important factor in preventing illiteracy. Children who are not able to read on grade level by third grade have a history of being the most “at-risk” for failure and dropping out of school well before graduation. The initial pilot project, a program to train teachers to teach reading to children who were at-risk, was funded by a three year grant from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to pay for curriculum materials and highly qualified trainers to work with classroom teachers in six HISD schools.
The Show’s intent from the onset was to fund a pilot project, and if the project proved to be successful, to serve as the catalyst for creating a program that would become a model teacher training and reading intervention program for at-risk children. The pilot project proved to be an overwhelming success. Growth of the program during the three years far exceeded initial expectations as the program went from six schools serving 1,650 students to 41 schools in 2006-07 with over 12,500 students.
 |
| |
The foundation of the RITE™ program is the classroom teacher. In order for students to learn, teachers must have the skills and materials needed to meet the challenge of instructing at-risk children. RITE uses the scientifically based reading research direct instruction methodology of SRA/McGraw-Hill’s Language for Learning, Reading Mastery, Horizons and Corrective Reading programs. The different program series combine oral language development, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, oral reading and comprehension skills with a proven system for classroom management to teach reading proficiency to the most at-risk children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Each summer RITE conducts an intensive Summer Training Institute where teachers learn how to present the prescribed curriculum materials and effective techniques for classroom management. Following the Summer Institute, RITE trainers provide on-going weekly support and monitoring throughout the year in their assigned schools for a three year period. This unique feature of RITE ensures that teachers have sufficient support in the classroom and students receive intensive personal direct instruction in reading.
 |
| |
Information gathered by a task force prior to establishing the RITE program showed the at-risk problem, defined as children reading below their grade level, to be monumental in size and pervasive in nature throughout Houston area schools. The nation’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 placed a renewed emphasis on the importance of children learning to read. The Executive Summary of the Act states that nearly 70 percent of inner city fourth graders are unable to read at a basic level on national reading tests. To address this problem the Act clearly articulates the need for children to be able to read in early grades and the importance of early childhood reading instruction using SBRR methods. To combat the deficit for children in the later grades, the Corrective Reading program provides intensive intervention for students in third through sixth grade who are reading one or more years below grade level.
Demographic information for the RITE program shows that the overwhelming majority of the students are African-American and/or Hispanic. Data also shows that over 92 percent of the children in RITE schools qualify for a free or reduced lunch based on economic need. Children who are unable to read on grade level by third grade have a demonstrated history of being the most “at-risk” for failure and dropping out of school well before graduation.
 |
| |
Each year RITE has grown in size and scope as the program continues to demonstrate its impact and effectiveness in training teachers to teach reading skills to the most at-risk children. This year, RITE enters its tenth year of operation serving as the core reading curriculum in 41 early childhood centers, elementary and intermediate schools in the Houston, Kendleton, Spring and Aldine Independent School Districts. RITE is working with over 586 classrooms serving over 12,500 children. Since its inception the program has helped over 52,000 children learn to read and succeed.
 |
| |
Scientific measurement has been an integral component of the program from its inception. Each year RITE contracts with The Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics (TIMES) to conduct an external evaluation of the program’s effectiveness. Results from the most recent data concluded that children who begin the RITE program early and who spend two or more years in the program outperform their schoolmates with less program experience, students who began the program later, and students who never participated in the program (comparison school students). These findings are consistent with previous external evaluations demonstrating the effectiveness of the program. RITE’s use of an annual external evaluation to measure its impact on teaching at-risk children to read is another unique feature of the program. RITE also utilizes the expertise of its Education Advisory Board consisting of leaders in the field of reading instruction, assessment and research to monitor the direction and effectiveness of the program.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues to be the largest single donor to the program, having committed $1.5 million per year through the end of the 2011-2012 school year. Given the high priority placed on early childhood intervention and the demonstrated success of the program, the Board of Directors have initiated a fundraising campaign to solicit the support of individuals, corporations and foundations who are concerned about the future of at-risk children in our public school.
 |
| |
- The RITE Program was featured as one of three model programs by the Governor’s Reading Institute video entitled, “Thriving on Excellence”. (2002)
- RITE received the “Pride of SRA” award by SRA/McGraw-Hill at the annual conference of the International Reading Association in San Francisco, California. (May 2002)
- Houston Independent School District was awarded the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education after a panel visited the only elementary school, Codwell Elementary, a RITE school (October 2002)
- Two RITE HISD schools, Robert Lee Frost Elementary and James A. Montgomery Elementary, were recognized along with 214 public and private elementary and secondary schools as No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige (September 2003)
- Two participating RITE schools, Codwell Elementary and James A Montgomery Elementary, received recognition by the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) as a “Just for the Kids High-Performing School” where students demonstrated sustained high academic performance in 2001, 2002, and 2003. (February 2004)
Scores are in .pdf format:
Information provided in .pdf format
Press Releases:
RODEO INSTITUTE FOR TEACHER EXCELLENCE
TO PRESENT RITE TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
RODEO INSTITUTE FOR TEACHER EXCELLENCE TO NAME MARY JANE HAMILTON-TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENT
|
