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"Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers" Explores New Strategies That Give More Students "A Chance to Read"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jason Franklin's infectious smile and engaging personality belie the struggles that he faces in school. Jason is a nine-year-old at Versia Williams Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas, and he has a genetic condition called Williams syndrome, which makes learning to read a serious challenge.

Children like Jason, who have cognitive disabilities like Williams or Down syndrome or autism, were once relegated to "Life Skills" classes. But new research is showing new promise for children with many different types of disabilities.

"I think that the reason that people who work with these groups of children have not really focused on literacy and reading is a belief that it was too cognitively challenging…and that, perhaps, these children just could not be readers," says Dr. Patricia Mathes of Southern Methodist University.

"I call that 'assumicide,' because they make an assumption that they're not capable, and then they never try."

A Chance to Read, a new PBS show produced by WETA Washington D.C., highlights new strategies driven by emerging research that shows what schools are doing across the country to help children with disabilities find success. The show is hosted by actress Molly Ringwald, who grew up reading to her father, who is blind. A Chance to Read will air this fall on PBS stations across the country (check local listings).

"The new findings offer real hope to families of children with disabilities," says ReadingRockets.org Executive Director Noel Gunther. "Increasing the reading skills of any child can help him become more independent, which is a win for everyone. We hope this show opens eyes and minds to what children with disabilities can accomplish."

A Chance to Read highlights several schools that are finding success, including:

• Gideon Pond Elementary, in Burnsville, Minnesota, where teachers are using a revolutionary program that combines cued English and American Sign Language to raise the reading scores of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
• Woodrow Wilson Elementary, in Denton, Texas, where ten-year-old Ethan Ligon, who is blind, has learned to read fluently using Braille, a feat that only 10 percent of children who are blind have the opportunity to accomplish.
• Bellehaven Elementary, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Dennis Higgins teaches "twice-exceptional" students, kids who are both intellectually gifted and have learning disabilities. Combining remediation with projects that require high-level thinking, Dr. Higgins helps students learn without focusing exclusively on their disabilities.

A Chance to Read also includes the story of an adult with severe dyslexia, Dr. Christopher Lee, an administrator at the University System of Georgia. Using emerging technologies, he has been able to complete his Ph.D. and write two books about his experiences as a student with dyslexia. Now his mission is to share that technology with other college students who have disabilities.

In addition to Dr. Lee and Dr. Patricia Mathes, "A Chance to Read" also features these experts:

• Dr. Mary Ruth Coleman is president of the Council for Exceptional Children and a professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She describes the importance of helping children with disabilities find their academic strengths.
• Dr. Daniel Koo is a neuroscientist with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He cites statistics showing that the average student who is deaf graduates from high school with a third- to fourth-grade reading level.

"Growing up in a household with a parent who's blind gives Molly Ringwald a unique perspective on the importance of literacy for people with disabilities," said Christian Lindstrom, senior producer. "In a family that loved reading, she saw firsthand the value of Braille and the independence it allows those who need it."

A Chance to Read is the ninth program in the series Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers, WETA's award-winning series of innovative half-hour programs about how children learn to read, why so many struggle, and what parents and teachers can do to help.

The series is part of the ongoing WETA initiative ReadingRockets.org, which uses television, the Internet, print and outreach to disseminate research-based information about teaching young children how to read. ReadingRockets.org is funded primarily by a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

ReadingRockets.org sister sites include LDOnLine.org, the world's leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD; ColorinColorado.org, the first major, comprehensive bilingual website for Spanish-speaking families and teachers of English-language learners; and a new site AdLit.org, to be launched in October 2007, a resource for parents and practitioners to help kids in grades 4-12 become better readers and writers.

WETA is the third-largest program producer for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the flagship public broadcaster in the nation's capital. WETA productions and co-productions include "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal," "America at a Crossroads," "In Performance at the White House," "The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo," and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns, including "The War," coming to PBS in September 2007. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO of WETA. For more information on WETA and its programs, visit weta.org.

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