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It’s a new year, and we couldn’t be more excited about the
innovative products and services we will be offering in 2007.
If you haven’t received your Sopris West™ Educational Services
2007 Catalog yet, click
here to request a free copy.
Among the new products announced in the 2007 catalog is the
Seventh Edition of IDEL™: Indicadores Dinámicos del Éxito
en la Lectura. For this issue’s “Product Focus,” we talked
with one of IDEL’s authors about how the program was
developed and the growing need in our schools for
Spanish-language student assessments.
Although the year has just begun, it’s time to start
planning your summer! For 13 years, Sopris West has been
offering the opportunity to learn from education leaders, earn
academic credit, and network with colleagues at Summer
Institutes in spectacular resort locations across the country.
Learn more about these relaxing educational getaways in this
issue’s “Sopris Spotlight.”
We welcome feedback on making Connections a more
valuable tool for you. Please send comments, story ideas, and
suggestions to e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
Sincerely,
Your friends at Sopris West
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Product
Focus |
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Reliable Spanish-Language Assessment Now
Available
Q&A with Doris Baker
Coauthor, IDEL:
Indicadores Dinámicos del Éxito en la Lectura
Spanish instructor, University of Oregon
Among the innovative offerings in Sopris West’s 2007
Catalog are a number of exciting new products for
Spanish-speaking students. We spoke with coauthor Doris Baker
about IDEL, the Spanish-language reinvention of
DIBELS ®: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
Skills. Here she offers insight on the creation and
purpose of this reliable reading assessment for
Spanish-speaking students.
Q: For whom was IDEL created?
A: When we
developed the measures, we mostly had in mind English language
learners (ELLs). Native Spanish speakers may learn to read in
Spanish first before transitioning to an English-only program.
The ELL population is very mobile, and there is often no
connection between one school and the other. In one school
they may be learning to read in Spanish first, and the other
in English. So IDEL provides the opportunity to assess
their early reading skills in their native language before
putting them into any kind of intervention program.
View
full article
We want to hear how our products are working for you!
Please drop us a line at
e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
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Insider's
Insight |
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Education Leader Reflects on Special Calling
It’s been years since Alice Parker had a classroom of her
own, but she has never forgotten a student’s face.
“The motivation for what we do is to help kids,” she says.
“So in order to do your job, you need to remember the
children’s faces.”
As president of the National Association of State Directors
of Special Education (NASDSE) from 2003 to 2004, Parker built
collaborative communities with members from all parts of the
education world—including governmental entities, schools,
districts, social services, and parents. These communities
effectively worked toward the common goal of helping
all students succeed.
At its annual conference in November, NASDSE honored Parker
with the prestigious Heritage Award for her service to the
organization and her accomplishments in the field of special
education.
View
full article
How can Sopris West’s authors and experts help you?
Please tell us which of our experienced professionals you’d
like to hear from next and what education topics you’d like to
learn more about by dropping us a line at
e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
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High
Marks |
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We love to hear from customers who are achieving success
with our products and services! Before the holidays, Ilene
Fields, an early literacy specialist from New Braunfels,
Texas, wrote of her success with Responsive
Reading Instruction: Flexible Intervention for Struggling
Readers in the Early Grades.
“I want to say how much I love the Responsive Reading
Instruction program. The concepts of continuous assessment
of the ‘Star Reader’ allow me to plan an entire lesson based
on one child’s needs. Teaching directly to that child provides
the benefits of a one-to-one program with the cost benefits of
a small group intervention.
“ 'Word Work' is sequenced, yet there is a menu of choices
to vary instruction—all of them hands-on and multisensory. The
format for 'Supported Reading' is spelled out in the manual,
yet book choice is left open to the teacher. That way I can
choose a book that meets the child’s reading needs yet engages
them with a connection to their personal lives. I’m sold!”
Do you have a success story involving your school or
district and Sopris West products or professional services? If
so, we’d love to share it with other customers. It’s
testimonials like these that inspire us all! Please send your
stories, comments, or ideas to e-newsletter@sopriswest.com.
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Sopris
West Educational Services, a Cambium Learning™ company,
provides research-based, culturally responsive curricula,
products, and professional development services that allow
educators and parents to increase achievement for at-risk
students and develop a positive school climate.
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