Edamarie Mattei

Bio:
When she isn't pursuing her other interests, such as hanging out with her children, participating in triathalons, playing guitar and, of course, reading, B-CC's new Literacy Coach, Edamarie Mattei is working with other B-CC teachers to help them embed reading and writing strategies into the content of the subjects they teach to their students.

The position of Literacy Coach is new not only to B-CC, but to all other high schools in Montgomery County as well. In the past, Montgomery County has employed Literacy Teachers in some high schools, but the decision to include a Literacy Coach in all county high schools resulted in part from a report from the Alliance for Excellence Education, a Carnegie-funded group. This report found that approximately six million middle and high school students across the country are not reading on grade level. Ms. Mattei notes that "…approximately 1/5 of high school students in Montgomery County are not reading on grade level." One aspect of her job is to determine where B-CC students are with respect to their reading level.

But what exactly does the Literacy Coach do, and why is this job important? Quite simply, there is more of a push to get students to read, write and think more critically in all content areas of their subjects. For example, when reading a history text, a group of students can be taught to comprehend a passage on literal and analytical levels by going through a process involving several steps: previewing the text--the purpose of reading the text; clarifying--asking questions; summarizing--the main idea; and, critical thinking--drawing inferences, analyzing and synthesizing information in a passage.

As parents what can we do to help our children become more active and critical readers, writers and thinkers? For example, Ms. Mattei explains that students can get "stuck reading and not understanding what they've read." She advises parents to ask their teenage readers about "what they've read, using connection questions, such as what did you learn, or how do you see things differently? Ask your child to teach you." If you want more information on the subject, writer Chris Tovani has written a book, "I Read It, but I Don't Get It," which, although written for teachers, can give parents additional comprehension strategies to use to help kids learn to comprehend what they've read on their own.

And why did Ms. Mattei, who graduated with a master's degree in Reading, Writing and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania, choose to come to B-CC? There were several reasons, chief among them, the B-CC's IB/MYP program (the International Baccalaureate and Middle Years Program, respectively), which encourages students to become active writers, readers and thinkers. The goals and values of this program prepare students to become "active democratic citizens," which coincide with her philosophy about what works in education to make a student's school experience more "powerful and meaningful."