2008 ITAV Award Winner

Smith Elementary School was selected as the recipient of the seventh annual outstanding service “It Takes a Village of Readers” award for its exemplary job of implementing the best practices in reading, implementing research based practices in effectively teaching students with dyslexia. Kathy DeTolve credited her staff, in particular Ms. Lisa Svejda, school psychologist, for taking a leadership role in recognizing the need for systematically addressing the barriers faced by some of the students in phonological awareness and decoding.

The school also developed a systematic program for assessment and added a multisensory systematic, sequential approach to the components of their early reading instruction. Ms. DeTolve also discussed the collaboration between regular and special education in developing and implementing all of their assessment and intervention programs.

In winning this prestigious award, Smith Elementary School will receive a one-year membership to The International Dyslexia Association and will be a featured presenter at the 2009Annual Conference of the Illinois Branch.

Lake Bluff Middle School was selected as the recipient of the ITAV 2007 and 2008 honorable mention for outstanding service. The school demonstrated multiple initiatives designed to provide early intervention to struggling readers and support them, seamlessly, throughout their enrollment in the Lake Bluff schools.