Local teacher gets shot at TV exposure

Educators and students nationwide will be listening to a local teacher Tuesday as she discusses Project LIFE, an early intervention literacy program used in the Clark County School District.

Linda Dale, a reading specialist from Twin Lakes Elementary School, will be a panelist on "Satellite Town Meeting," a monthly television program hosted by Education Secretary Richard Riley.

Joining Dale will be Dr. Johnny Brown, superintendent of Birmingham, Ala., public schools; Claude Goldenberg, an education teacher at California State University at Long Beach, Calif.; Nancy Mireles, a PTA board member at Chula Vista Hills Elementary School in Chula Vista, Calif.; and Mark Willes, Los Angeles Times publisher.

"It's quite an honor," Dale said. "It took my breath away."

The show features a live discussion, videotaped reports on successful schools and call-in questions from viewers.

"It's a way for educators to share best practices with one another," Julie Green, Education Department spokeswoman, said. "The meetings provide successful models that have worked in their community with other audiences so they might have resources to use in their community."

Tuesday's theme will be "Teaching Reading: Success Stories from School and Home."

Project LIFE is an early intervention program in Las Vegas that targets first- and second-graders who are in the lowest 10 percentile for reading levels.

Dale spends 40 minutes a day with each at-risk child during an intense reading and writing session. She works with 40 students a day in groups of five.

"The program has a 90 percent success rate," Dale said. "Within the first nine weeks, students have become average in the classroom. Some of those students become highest in the class -- but our goal is average."

Based on research, the program is similar to others across the country. The Clark County program differs by using groups rather than one-on-one attention.

Clark County educators find that working with groups doesn't hinder the success rate, Dale said. County programs have the same success rate as programs with individual training, she added.

"It's also more cost-effective to work with groups. There are a lot of at-risk children in Clark County," Dale said.

"We're very proud of the program. Linda is a very fine spokesperson for it," Barbara Fox, Twin Lakes principal, said.

"Twin Lakes is an at-risk school where some of the students enter the first grade without any reading preparation," Fox said. "This gives the kids a quick catch-up. You can see it in their faces. They're thrilled to be reading."

Dale started the program at Twin Lakes in 1996. The school now has 12 teachers trained in Project LIFE who are applying its strategies in the classroom.

The television show will be aired live through KLVX Channel 10's wireless microwave stations to all schools in the school district and rebroadcast in the schools at noon Wednesday and Thursday. It will not be broadcast on Channel 10.

There will be several hundred down-link sights across the nation.

Dale was selected by Carol Rasco, director of America Reads Challenge. Dale is only the second person selected to represent Southern Nevada on the show since the its start five years ago.

"I'm thrilled," Dale said. "It's wonderful. This is a great program. It will be fun to share the success."

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