Complete Coverage

Reading Rituals

The Ogden, Utah, schools have used the mandates of the federal Reading First grant program to fine-tune instruction districtwide, and students’ scores are way up.

Ogden, Utah

In 2002, big dreams were infectious in this small manufacturing city where the Wasatch Mountain Range provided the backdrop of some of the ski events of the Olympic Games.

That year, educators in Ogden’s schools set their sights high as well, when they turned to a federal grant program to transform reading instruction and student achievement in low-performing schools.

But officials envisioned a broader goal for the 12,300-student district, with its growing Hispanic population and widespread poverty. If they were going to make a commitment to improve reading, they would have to spread the Reading First model—including intensive professional development, research-based instruction, and monitoring of student progress—beyond the four schools participating in the initiative...