Dear Parents, 

It is with great pleasure that I share with you information related to a new initiative in the Hauppauge School District.  Our district is proud to be part of Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP). The mission of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project is to help young people become avid and skilled readers, writers, and inquirers. They accomplish this goal through research, curriculum development, and through working shoulder-to-shoulder with students, teachers, and school leaders. The organization has developed state-of-the-art tools and methods for teaching reading and writing, for using performance assessments and learning progressions to accelerate progress, and for literacy-rich content-area instruction. Thousands of teachers regard the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project as a continual source of professional renewal and education (Teacher College, 2016).     

Starting in the spring of 2015, teachers, principals, district administrators and support staff began the process of designing how this new literacy initiative would rollout in the upcoming school year with the goal of meeting students’ needs and supporting teachers in the implementation.  During this school year, teachers have been a part of many in-district workshops/training sessions run by highly skilled and trained TCRWP educators.  Using district provided materials, teachers participated in demonstration lessons, professional conversations and intensive break-out sessions focused on improving instruction for all our Hauppauge students in the area of literacy.  Additionally, throughout this school year, teachers availed themselves of opportunities to participate in various workshops at Columbia University Teachers College. These conferences provided teachers with valuable resources and strategies which they could take back to their classrooms in Hauppauge and use the very next day.  

Like our students, teachers are constantly growing and learning through professional development opportunities, on-going assessment of students’ progress and mindful self-reflection of their teaching practices.  Our plan as we move forward is to continue our dynamic and productive relationship with Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.  We know that this relationship makes our classroom instruction a powerful tool in supporting our students in their growth as readers, writers and learners. 

Respectfully yours,

Dr. Christopher Michael

Director of English Language Arts

Hauppauge Public Schools