Rainbow Readers  Helping Struggling Readers Succeed, so everyone can follow a rainbow This is an exciting time in the field of reading instruction with: much exciting research being done, many new scientific discoveries, and a revolution occurring in how we identify and teach struggling readers.

      But, it is also a time where more is being expected of classroom teachers than ever before. They need help. It is our goal at Rainbow Readers to provide information and access to scientifically-based resources that will help teachers respond to the needs of all the readers in their classroom, especially the strugglers.

      Products offered at Rainbow Readers are usually products we have used ourselves and know they are effective with students having a neurological condition called dyslexia. Since current brain research from several notable universities is showing that dyslexia may affect as much as 20% of the general population, it is important that our teaching methods and materials reflect this new knowledge. Our techniques in the past have not significantly raised the reading ability of our struggling readers as National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for 2009 seem to indicate.

      The fourth grade scores are unchanged from 2 years ago. More than 1/3 of our 4th graders are unable to read well enough to function with grade level material. This group is significant because they are the students who received the benefit of millions of dollars from the Federal Government to raise their reading scores through "Reading First" programs. Decoding improved, but Comprehension did not. After all the effort, time and money invested, their NAEP scores should have been better. Something needs to change.

       Rainbow Readers was created to help teachers bridge the gap between what we’ve done in the past and simple changes based on research which can help a greater number of our struggling readers succeed with learning to read in the future .

Carol S. Fitzpatrick has a passion for helping struggling readers and their teachers. When her own children were forced to deal with the frustration and humiliation of dyslexia, she went back to school to learn how to teach them to read. The same methods she used with her sons have worked for many more struggling readers in her classroom.       Now Fitzpatrick travels throughout the country speaking on successful intervention in reading instruction. Her message is warm, personal, and full of practical ideas that teachers can use the next day. She has a way of explaining complex concepts in simple terms that give hope to the discouraged.

• Masters degree in Education (Reading)
• Orton-Gillingham-trained reading specialist
• 20+ years of successful work with struggling readers
• Recipient of the national “NEA Innovation Grant”
• Member of the Oregon Superintendent of Schools’ “Talent Pool” for advising the legislature.

 Publication:

• Fitzpatrick, C.S. (1999). “The power of two: A study of the Integrated Reading Method of peer tutoring.” Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research. http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/networks/article/view/79/79 (accessed on the internet 2/10/09). 
• Fitzpatrick, C.S. (May of 2009).  Help, I Can’t Read! How to Respond with Struggling Readers in Your Classroom. Gold Hill, Oregon: Rainbow Readers Press.