The School District of Philadelphia Celebrates Student Accomplishments With Direct Instruction

PHILADELPHIA, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For over three years, McGraw-Hill Education's Direct Instruction and Intervention programs have given thousands of special education students in the School District of Philadelphia an opportunity to experience academic success in reading, language arts and math. These successes have been applauded and recognized by nationally-renowned special education professor and author, Nancy Marchand-Martella, who will be attending a special Teacher/Student Celebration event at the School District of Philadelphia Central Administration Building on Saturday, June 2, 2012, to discuss the proven impact of Direct Instruction on student performance, and strategies for its successful implementation.

McGraw-Hill Education's Corrective Reading and Reading Mastery programs -- which were first introduced to the district in September 2009 with the goal of closing the achievement gap among students through extended learning -- support Direct Instruction's explicit, intensive and research-proven instructional teaching method that relies on common instructional planning, frequent assessment and consistent classroom routines and engagement to boost student skill mastery in reading, spelling and language arts.

This Saturday, Marchand-Martella -- with over 25 years of experience working with at risk-populations and has contributed to nearly 130 publications -- will keynote the event,  discussing how she has used the Direct Instruction model to deliver consistently high levels of student achievement, especially when used with early intervention, response to intervention (RtI) and targeted skill instruction methods.

"We're excited to be a part of the Teacher/Student Celebration event to further demonstrate our commitment to improving the performance of students who are in need of intervention -- a top priority that begins with developing strong basic skills," said Jeff Livingston, senior vice president of the McGraw-Hill Education College and Career Readiness Learning Solutions Center. "We've found that students respond best to a highly-structured curriculum that provides explicit direction and sets clear expectations. Direct Instruction has positively impacted student performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, and more importantly, has transformed them into confident capable learners ready to meet the demands of both college and future careers."

At the event, about 100 parents, students, teachers and administrators will also have the opportunity to watch videos of teachers and children using McGraw-Hill Education's Direct Instruction programs in the classroom. The event will take place at 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the School District of Philadelphia Central Administration Building, 440 North Broad Street in Philadelphia.

For more information about the proven impact of Direct Instruction visit: http://www.mheresearch.com/#

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education is a content, software and services-based education company that draws on its more than 100 years of educational expertise to offer solutions, which improve learning outcomes around the world. McGraw-Hill is the adaptive education technology leader with the vision for creating a highly personalized learning experience that prepares students of all ages for the world that awaits. The company has offices across North America, India, China, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions available in more than 65 languages. For additional information, visit http://www.mheducation.com/.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education