About Reading Recovery

What is Reading Recovery?

Developed by internationally renowned scholar, developmental psychologist, and literacy researcher, Marie M. Clay, Reading Recovery is a short-term literacy intervention for first grade students who have extreme difficulty learning to read and write. Implemented world-wide and throughout the United States, Reading Recovery provides specialized initial training and ongoing professional development to licensed school-based educators.

Children served in Reading Recovery receive daily, one-to-one, 30-minute lessons taught by a specially trained teacher. After receiving the intervention for up to 20 weeks, most children served by Reading Recovery make accelerated progress, meeting grade level expectations in reading and writing, and developing effective literacy strategies that enable them to continue learning independently in the classroom. Reading Recovery can also serve as a pre-referral program for a small number of children who may need specialized longer-term help.

The success of Reading Recovery lies in its three-tier professional development model:  licensed Reading Recovery university faculty train and professionally develop Reading Recovery teacher leaders who, in turn, develop Reading Recovery teachers. Educators study the complex theory that informs Reading Recovery instruction and learn to use specialized teaching procedures that are responsive to each child’s developing competencies. Reading Recovery educators also apply their considerable expertise in their other instructional roles as reading interventionists, staff developers/literacy coaches, special educators, and classroom teachers; thus, extending their knowledge to other populations of students in the elementary grades. Throughout their participation in Reading Recovery, these educators continue to develop their literacy knowledge and teaching expertise through participation in continuing development and recertification sessions.