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Announcing 2023 Teacher Leader Award Winner Heather Cherry
The Reading Recovery Council of North America is thrilled to announce Heather Cherry as the 2023 Teacher Leader Award recipient. Heather represents Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma. A graduate of Northeastern State University with over 22 years of experience teaching, she will be part of the first training class at Oklahoma State University and is excited to get started. “…I will utilize research to communicate the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the Reading Recovery program to parents, educators, and members of the community,” she shares.
Teacher Leaders are highly trained professionals who are leaders in their local districts. They teach children, train Reading Recovery teachers for local schools, analyze and report student outcomes, educate the local educators, advocate for what cannot be compromised, and communicate with the public. Financial awards contributing to the cost of training are made possible thanks to generous donations to the Foundation for Struggling Readers.
Heather will share updates throughout her training year as part of the Follow My Journey blog series. Read through her membership spotlight below to get to know her before we follow along during her training year. Congratulations, Heather!
What is your favorite thing about Reading Recovery?
My favorite thing about Reading Recovery is the observable difference between the way a child carries themselves when they walk into the first day of roaming, versus the way they carry themselves as they walk out. There is simply no better experience than to be a part of changing a child’s self-identity from one born of defeat, to one born of possibility. It is truly magical to witness this transition from hunched shoulders and timid eyes, to puffed-out chest and head held high, as they carry that little book bag out the door with total confidence that they can read the treasures inside.
Share a favorite Reading Recovery memory.
A favorite Reading Recovery memory of mine didn’t actually take place during a Reading Recovery lesson. It was the day that I was on bus duty after school, a few years after completing my training year. I saw one of my students from that very first round, now at the end of his third grade year. He was waiting in the bus line as he proudly held a certificate of recognition he had received from his teacher that day. I could see it was a certificate for reading and when I asked him about it, he proudly held it up to show me. It wasn’t a recognition for reading achievement, though he could have very well been deserving of one. Instead, under his name, it read, “Nose always in a book!” I almost cried right there in front of him. I couldn’t think of a better accomplishment than to have contributed to that child’s love of reading! Not only was he an effective reader, performing at grade level, he was also a lover of reading, so much so, that it was what he was known for!
What is your favorite book?
One of my favorite books is The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo. It isn’t a book I would have chosen to read for myself, but I read it aloud to my third-grade class one year and then every year after, for the next 10 years. I was completely taken in by the artfully written story, that at first glance, seemed to be about a little mouse. What it turned out to be was a story about the human heart, the light, and dark that is present in every person. Most of all, it is a story of redemption and restoration, as the characters overcome the pain of loss, abuse, and unrealized dreams.
What do you like to do for fun?
“I am a nature girl, but not the live-off-the-land, survivalist kind. I’m more of a sit by the lake or hike a trail that leads to a waterfall, type. I love to be surrounded by God’s beautiful creation and if I have a book in my lap, it’s even better. I usually get my nature fix by camping with my family, at area lakes.”
THE JOURNAL OF READING RECOVERY
Spring 2024
Constructing a More Complex Neural Network for Working on Written Language That Learns to Extend Itself by Carol A. Lyons
Reading Recovery IS the Science(s) of Reading and the Art of Teaching by Debra Semm Rich
Predictions of Progress: Charting, Adjusting, and Shaping Individual Lessons by Janice Van Dyke and Melissa Wilde
Teachers Designing for Context: Using Integrity Principles to Design Early Literacy Support in Aotearoa New Zealand by Rebecca Jesson, Judy Aitken, and Yu Liu