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2017 Annual Benefit LuncheonThe 2017 Neuhaus Education Center Annual Benefit Luncheon, held April 18, 2017, at the Marriott Marquis Houston Hotel, raised more than $493,000 and is considered by some as one of the most memorable yet. Henry Winkler--actor, author, director and producer--delivered a moving keynote that amused as much as it inspired. Though his keynote was about his struggle with dyslexia, everyone was able to leave with a takeaway greater than the M&Ms on the tables--a renewed sense of drive, determination, and perseverance . . . be it for yourself or someone you know. Oftentimes struggling readers suffer in silence, working around problems with school work and overcompensating for the lack of foundational literacy skills that they missed at an early age. We do what we do so they don’t have
to sit in confusion and struggle silently until they reach adulthood as Mr. Winkler did years ago.
It is because of those like our Luncheon Chairs Barbara Sklar and Suzanne Sklar McCarthy and Underwriter Chairs Catherine and Edward Crain that we are able to continue the invaluable work that we do. It is because of educators like our honoree, Ann K. Johnson, that our work is delivered to the children and adults that desperately need it. With the support of our board, donors, parents, educators, and friends, we were able to surpass our luncheon goal and see that the tools for literacy are placed into the hands of those who need them most.
Neuhaus NewsJULY 2017
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A system-wide emphasis on literacy provides
infrastructure support, leadership, and prioritization.
District support provides sustainability to the work of the
schools as they tackle the urgent improvement goals.
District leadership can identify outcomes and outline
steps. A collaborative development of a strategic literacy
action plan keeps everyone on the same page, clarifies
use of resources, and provides a framework for crucial
conversations.
The Harlingen Consolidated School District’s (HCSD)
strategic plan, Transforming Learning for Global
Achievement, has as its vision becoming a system
of world-class schools, where students develop the
knowledge, skills, and learning habits that prepare
them for college and career success in the 21st century.
Knowing that literacy is central to academic success in
all content areas, district leadership chose to focus on
the development of basic literacy so that from an early
age students are capable of reading and analyzing texts.
In August 2016 the district partnered with Neuhaus and
instituted the Ladder to Literacy Project. This project
focuses on an in-depth, on-going, unique professional
development plan that strengthens the implementation
of best practices in Structured Literacy on each HCSD
elementary campus.
-Principals and district administrators participated in
professional learning sessions centered on the science
of teaching reading and building a shared vision of what
best practices look like in the classroom.
-Campus-based instructional coaches acquired
knowledge of the elements and principles of Structured
Literacy through in-depth, face-to-face and online
in-depth professional development.
-Second, first and then kindergarten teachers
participated in online learning facilitated by their campus
instructional coach
-Coaches and teachers implemented the Accurate and
Automatic Reading Routine with a collaborative plan.
-Students participate daily in a reading lesson that
focuses on learning how to unlock the meaning of print.
Pictured above: Harlingen CISD Central Office Administration, Coaches, and Neuhaus Administration and Teaching Staff
Why Does Improving Literacy and Learning Need to be a District Wide Initiative?
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Adult Literacy Student Profile: Aiyana’s StoryAiyana, a lovely 19-year-old female of African-American
descent, came to Neuhaus through DARS (Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services) shortly after
graduating from high school in the spring of 2016. This is
the story of how she came to achieve independent
academic success through a series of encounters with
some very special people.
Aiyana never knew that she had a language learning
difference. After repeating first grade, she recounts the
memory of being “pulled out” for one hour per day for
reading intervention each year that she was in an HISD
elementary school. During that hour Aiyana and her
classmates “watched movies and colored in coloring
books.” As a result, Aiyana was still
unable to read when she began
middle school in 6th grade. She
states that she passed each year
there, despite her continuing inability
to read, because a good friend let her
copy homework and copy her paper
on tests! She was promoted each
year because she attended summer
school.
When Aiyana began attending Madison High School in
9th grade, she was placed in special education classes
and was never offered accommodations for the general
education classroom. Her special- ed teacher, who took
an interest in Aiyana, wrote her final ARD paperwork so
that she would graduate with a regular high school di-
ploma rather than a special education diploma. He made
this decision in spite of the fact that she had taken the
STAAR test 5 times in 4 years and had failed it every
time. The teacher added this note to the ARD: “Aiyana will
not be able to go on to college.” Aiyana’s grandmother,
who raised her, always wanted her to go to college--she
worried that Aiyana would be unable to support herself
once she was gone. This was when the special education
teacher made a life-changing decision for Aiyana: he
connected her to a caseworker at DARS at the end of her
senior year with the idea that DARS would help her find
employment or appropriate training. When Aiyana men-
tioned her weak reading skills, the case worker had her
tested. She was subsequently diagnosed with borderline
intellectual functioning, reading disability, and a disorder
of written expression.
Aiyana applied to HCC, where the TSI (Texas
Success Initiative Assessment) was adminis-
tered to determine her level of coursework.
When she failed all 3 sections--reading,
math, and writing--her DARS caseworker
referred her to the adult literacy program at
Neuhaus. Aiyana was placed in a beginning
Basic Language Skills class in the fall of 2016.
Her reading skills improved so dramatically
during the first 4 months in the program that
she was “promoted” to a higher level Basic class, where
she continued to excel. In the meantime, she completed
2 semesters at HCC and ended the second one with a 3.0
grade average. Most importantly, Aiyana has learned to
advocate for herself and is now receiving accommoda-
tions in all of her classes. Her confidence has grown, and
she has shown that she is bright and quite capable of
learning. From now on, the sky is the limit for Aiyana!
The Lenox M. Reed Seminar was held at the Briar Club of Houston the
day following the luncheon. Speaker Dr. Julie Washington from the
University of Georgia and Pulitzer Prize winner Lisa Falkenberg of the
Houston Chroncile delivered an engaging keynote on the topic of
Special Education in the State of Texas. Seminar participants left with a
broadend knowledge of special education funding practices in the state
of Texas and the impact that these practices have on students who are
being served under the umbrella of Special Education legislation.
2017 Lenox M. Reed Seminar
PARENT INFORMATION SESSION
When: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on designated Wednesdays and
Saturdays
Location: Neuhaus Education Center, 4433 Bissonnet, Bellaire,
Texas 77401
The next info sessionwill be held:
To register visit: neuhaus.org/parents/
monthly-sessions
In MemoriamMartin Debrovner
1936-2017
It is with gratitude and appreciation that the Neuhaus
staff and board honor the memory of Martin
Debrovner and his ceaseless contributions during his time
on our board.
August 26
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2016-2017
Adrienne Randle Bond, Chair
Ben B. Andrews
Scott Butler
Spencer Bynes
Irene Deck
Elena Denis, LCSW
Julie Do
Santiago Garavito
David A. Hanse
Suzanne S. Harter
Joe Heller
Jenny Roman Johnson
Katherine Kardesch
Robert W. Kirkland
Lori S. Machiorlette
Amy A. Melton
Robert P. Palmquist
Josephine P. Smith
W. Temple Webber III
Margaret Young
FOUNDERS/LIFETIME TRUSTEES
Marilyn Beckwith
Margaret H. Ley, CALT*
Virginia McFarland
Ed Neuhaus
Betty Neuhaus*
Virginia G. Noel*
William D. Noel
Fredda Parker*
Lenox Reed, M.Ed., CALT
Nancy Collie Reed*
Elizabeth B. Wareing
Kay McGibbon Werlein, M.Ed.
*deceased
ADVISORY BOARD
Blanche S. Bast, M.A.T.
Cynthia Summerford Birdwell
Medora Thomas Boone
Genevieve Hutcheson Butcher
Lucy Reinking Carl
Edward Crain, Jr.
Loretta R. Cross
Michael P. Cullinan
Linda B. Denison
George Edwards
Keri Fovargue, Ph.D.
Jamie Grissom
Joanie Haley
Jennifer W. Hazelton
Bruce Holzband
Curtis Hutcheson
JP Hutcheson
Marjorie C. Hutcheson
Ann K. Johnson, CALT
Steve Johnson
Patty Kallmeyer
Courtney Lippincott
Shandy Moore
Walter Negley
Charles W. Neuhaus
Larry Neuhaus
Barbara Noel
Robert W. Paddock
Michele Mason Pilibosian, JD
Melissa Beckworth Rabalais
Katheryn Shaffer Ray
Erin Reid
Barbara Sklar
Sherra Cassin Sowell
Amy Thompson
Katherine Veletsos
Leslie Wade
Elizabeth Munson Whitehead
PRESIDENT & CEO
Tracy Weeden, Ed.D.
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Marilyn Jager Adams. Ph.D.
Pamela Bell, Ph.D.
Judith R. Birsh, Ed.D.
Benita A. Blachman, Ph.D.
Susan A. Brady, Ph.D.
Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, Ed.D.
David Chard, Ph.D.
David J. Francis, Ph.D.
Susan L. Hall, Ed.D., M.B.A.
Marcia K. Henry, Ph.D.
R. Malatesha Joshi, Ph.D.
Diana Hanbury King, M.A.
Lisa Kinnaman, Ed.D.
Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D.
Betty B. Osman, Ph.D.
Sam Redding, Ed.D.
Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D.
Ruth Strudler, Ph.D.
Thomas G. West, M.A.
Troy Wheeler
W. Daniel Williamson, M.D.
Non-Profit Org.US POSTAGE PAID
Permit #2139Houston, Texas
OFFICE HOURSMonday – Friday · 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
HOLIDAYSThe office will be closed for:
LABOR DAY – 9.4.17
DONATIONSSimply go to neuhaus.org to make a contribution.
OUR MISSIONNeuhaus Education Center, dedicated to promoting reading success, provides evidence-based professional development to educators, information and resources to families, and direct services to adult learners.
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