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FOR RELEASE:
March 5, 2002
CONTACT:
Alexander Wohl
202/879-4458
awohl@aft.org
Statement by Sandra Feldman,
President, American Federation of Teachers,
on White House Decision to Use AFT Reading Program as National Model
The teaching of reading is fundamental to student achievement. We are honored that today the White House and the U.S. Department of Education are announcing a cooperative effort with the AFT to expand the AFT's professional development program in the teaching of reading. This effort will provide more teachers with the best available research on reading instruction that uses the most effective instructional methods.
In a long-term effort, punctuated by the 1999 release of AFT's Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science, AFT has developed a balanced and successful reading instruction approach based on several components, including decoding skills, comprehension strategies and exposure to a rich variety of literature. Expanding this program will bring it to more teachers across the country, with the ultimate winners being the students.
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The AFT represents 1.3 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals and other school support employees, higher education faculty, nurses and other healthcare workers, and state and local government employees.
