Contact: Maridith Geuder
A veteran college educator who is an authority on early childhood education is among experts recently appointed to the National Reading Panel.
Gloria C. Correro, associate dean of education at Mississippi State University, joins other nationally recognized educators, reading teachers and parents named by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.
The 15-person panel was established by Congress. Also including representatives from Stanford, Yale, Columbia, and other major universities, the panel will evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches to the teaching of reading.
"It's thrilling to know Congress has made this a priority," said Correro, a former elementary school teacher who was nominated to the panel by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).
The group currently is preparing for its first meeting in April, she said. "We're reviewing literature and looking at research all over the world. We also will be asking a basic question: 'Why are our children not reading?'"
To answer that question, the Greenwood native said the first step will be to examine the research that exists today. "We want to determine the areas where research is needed, and we want to recommend programs that can be put into place in our schools," she said.
In particular, the group plans to look at approaches that accommodate the different learning styles of all children.
The panel is charged with presenting a final report by November.
Correro was actively involved during the 1970s and early 1980s in efforts to provide kindergarten programs in state public schools. She led in setting up a cooperative demonstration kindergarten program funded by MSU and the Starkville Public Schools.
After the Mississippi Education Reform Act of 1982 added kindergarten programs, Correro served on the state Education Department committee that established uniform guidelines for the program. Later, she directed a statewide assessment of the new kindergarten programs for the state Board of Education.
She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Mississippi State and a doctorate from the University of Alabama.