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PLN was founded in 1981, by Dr. Morton Botel. In 1975, the Pennsylvania State Department of Education selected him to write and implement the Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Communication Arts Plan to meet the US Office of Education’s Right to Read mandate. This framework and its revisions have guided educators in Pennsylvania to this very day. For five years following its publication, Dr. Botel worked throughout the Commonwealth to further professional development to support the plan. When federal funds ran out, he decided to continue and expand professional development opportunities for educators throughout the country through a continuing education program at the Graduate School of Education, which he called Penn Literacy Network.
The PLN goals are:
* To offer teachers and school leaders a democratic co-constructionist framework for improving teaching/learning/assessment at every grade level across the curriculum.
* To engage teachers in critical reading of challenging texts, in critical writing and in critical conversations with their peers for their own development and to serve as a model for their teaching.
* To guide teachers in conducting classroom tryouts and in sharing their experiences with their colleagues.
* To work with teachers and school leaders in a long-term process of collaborative constructing of research-based curriculum.
There are Four Learning Lenses in PLN:
* Learning as Meaning Making: We use our prior knowledge and experiences to learn. The learner sees the connection between the content and his/her life. The learner reflects over the lesson.
* Learning as Social: We make meaning in conjunction with others. Learning is a collaborative process. Example: Read, respond, share.
* Learning as Language-Based: We rely on reading/writing/talking/listening to learn. They are interrelated, not separate skills and activities. Learners need opportunities to reflect and talk about their learning.
* Learning as Human: Learning is personalized. Students have opportunities to be successful in the classroom via choices and collaboration. Individual ideas and insights are valued
At Sun Valley, students identify PLN with Collins Writing. PLN uses a modified version of Collins Writing. Students are writing to learn as a form of scaffolding instruction. Every student uses Collins Writing every day. Sustained Silent Reading is another PLN tool utilized every day at Sun Valley. It encourages students to read what they want to read. It allows students to see that reading is for both learning and enjoyment. Classroom libraries are set up by teachers in the high school. Other strategies used at Sun Valley are I-search, to help introduce a topic, to supplement learning based on interest or for those students who are working above grade level to supplement their learning, Scan and Run and SQ3R, which are particularly helpful in aiding student in reading nonfiction texts, and Text Rendering, which allows students to make connections to the text on the page.
At Northley, Collins Writing is also being implemented across the curriculum, and teachers are finding great success with student work. Vocabulary strategies are a focal point at the middle school. Text Rendering is being used for both fictional and non-fictional texts. Sustained Silent Reading is a tool utilized throughout all disciplines at Northley, as students are required to have their Reading Counts books with them at all times. These are books that students pick on their own that are of high interest to them. Teachers at Northley also have set up classroom libraries with items of high student interest.
The Penn-Delco School District has worked with Joseph Ginotti, Director of the Penn Literacy Network. Penn Delco has had 3 cycles of teachers go through the program. There are currently 8 teachers at the High School, and 4 at the Middle School who have been trained. There are 4 administrators in the District who have also been trained.
-By Rosemary Fowler, Supervisor of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction
Penn-Delco offers a financial literacy curriculum beginning in Kindergarten and following through until 12th grade. The President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy defines personal financial literacy as "the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being." (2008 Annual Report to the President) At the elementary level, the program has established cross-curricular connections with the mathematics, reading, and social studies programs already in place. Fiction and nonfiction texts are incorporated in the lessons as the elementary students learn about topics such as wants and needs, producers and consumers, the value of currency, the power of advertising, and the importance of earnings and savings. The district has partnered with Junior Achievement, Wawa, Sun East Credit Union, and the Franklin Mint Credit Union to bring real-life resources into the classroom. Teaching our students about money will help them live successful lives. The goal is to help our students know how to manage their finances as they start earning and saving money on their own. The lessons the children are learning now will guide them to become financially responsible adults. Financial literacy in the elementary grades is about understanding basic money management. In today’s economy, it is never too early to learn about money. Those who start saving early will benefit the most!
Home/School Connection~
Encourage your child to set a savings goal for something that is important to them like new bike. Having a savings goal will help your child learn about budgeting and money.
Discuss ads that come up on the television. Talk about the power of advertising and wants versus needs.
