Suggested Strategies and Resources
In some communities, secondary literacy initiatives have been established particularly to meet the needs of specific groups such as English Language Learners or at-risk students. (For an example of a district-wide commitment to struggling readers whose literacy skills are insufficient for them to succeed in their secondary content area classes, see http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/langarts/hsread.htm#commitment.) Others have taken a broader approach but specifically designate the goals of the initiative and design all the aspects of the project to assist students and teachers to meet those goals (see, for example, http://www.mcsd.org/Report_files/secondary.pdf). Different communities have different issues facing them. One thing is clear, there is no "one size fits all" solution to the challenge of adolescent literacy development. Remember, too, while the needs of one group of students may appear greater than that of others, the need for continued support of literacy development through the content areas is an important piece of standards-based education for all secondary students (see http://www.reading.org/pdf/1036.pdf).
One caveat: Successful literacy initiatives involve "buy in" from teachers, students, administrators, parents, and representatives from the community. Invite people from all of these groups to the table to come to consensus on what a literacy initiative would need to address to be successful. Then ask the participants to be responsible for carrying back information about the initiative to their constituencies.
