This post is a guest blog by Yuen Family Scholar Teri Turner, who wanted to share her experience of how well Reading Recovery works. Read and get inspired. :)

It is with deep gratitude I would like to thank the Hameray Publishing/Yuen Family Foundation for their generous gift of funding the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Scholarship 2015–2016. As a recipient of this scholarship, I have had many wonderful experiences over the year. Most rewarding of these experiences has been the joy expressed by my students, and their parents, as they realize that they are readers and writers!

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to hear a child say, “This is an easy book!” and “Can I write another sentence?!” It was equally rewarding to hear a parent express delight that their child texts with them, or that their child reads to them at bedtime. These are life changing experiences that a series of lessons in Reading Recovery has provided for these children.

This year, through Reading Recovery, I was able to bring the gift of reading and writing to seven York Region District School Board students. Partnerships with parents, classroom teachers, and administrators made the work lighter and more powerful. Hearing classroom teachers say things like: “He’s one of the best writers in the class,” “She has so much more confidence now!” and “The other children go to her for help now,” convey how Reading Recovery has made an impact on children and their ability to access curriculum along with their peers.

Part of my year included learning at the Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery with Reading Recovery Trainer Janice Van Dyke. The courses were vigorous and clearly practical in developing the skills and knowledge required to support training new Reading Recovery Teachers. Visits to other school boards to participate in In-Service sessions and Ongoing Professional Development were very rewarding. A huge highlight was meeting and participating in for Reading Recovery was infectious. It was truly a privilege to meet her.

Another grand highlight of the year was the opportunity to attend the 2016 National Reading Recovery & K–6 Conference in Ohio. This opportunity would not have been possible without the generous funding provided by Raymond and Christine Yuen of Hameray Publishing supporting the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Scholarships. Being able to meet them, and thank them in person, was indeed a pleasure. So too was learning of their personal connections to the York Region community and school system. Their dedication to providing children opportunities to learn to read and write was a key message to everyone who had the privilege of speaking with them. Their dedication has certainly had a profound effect on the students I taught this year and will continue to reap benefits for many more students as I move into the role of Teacher Leader in the fall.

As this school year winds down, I am looking forward to attending the International Reading Recovery Trainers Organization in Vancouver in July, as well as sharing the learning journey of new Reading Recovery teachers and their students in years to come.

Here are some quotes I'd like to share with you from parents, teachers, and administrators about our success: