THE CHALLENGING ROLE OF A READING COACH, A CAUTIONARY TALE.

The purpose of this case study is to describe the challenges one coach faced during the initial implementation of a coaching initiative involving 33 teachers in an urban, high-poverty elementary school. Reading coaches are increasingly expected to play a key role in the professional development efforts to improve reading instruction in order to improve reading achievement for struggling readers. Data sources included initial reading scores for kindergarten and first-graders, pretest and posttest scores of teachers' knowledge, a teacher survey, focus group interviews, project documents, and field notes.

Absenteeism rates in students receiving services for CDs, LDs, and EDs: a macroscopic view of the consequences of disability.

Purpose: Elevated levels of absenteeism have been reported for students receiving special education services, especially students with learning disabilities (LDs) and emotional disturbances (EDs). In contrast, little is known about absenteeism rates associated with students with communication disorders (CDs).

Method: Archival records of student attendance for the 1997-2001 academic years from a mid-sized urban school district in the Intermountain West were used to examine absenteeism rates in students receiving services for CDs, LDs, and EDs.