Sarah's Story

Sarah’s Story: Eighth Grader to Visit Japan

Kay Allingham, Adrian, Michigan

Sarah Agnew is an eighth-grade student at Adrian Middle School in Adrian, Michigan. Her parents became concerned in first grade when Sarah was so discouraged with her performance in class that her self esteem was at an all-time low. They knew about the power of the Reading Recovery intervention and were glad when Sarah was selected as a second round student. Through the series of lessons, Sarah became a much more
confident reader and writer, and by the time she was in fourth grade, she was really putting it all together.

Today, Sarah is an avid reader and writer. She is also quite a risk-taker. She has been part of many local stage productions. Recently, Sarah was selected as one of eight county students to participate in an educational exchange with students from Adrian’s sister city of Moriyama, Japan. She will spend 10 days in Japan in May 2005.

Sarah has consistently been on the honor roll and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. In fifth grade she was awarded the Presidential Academic Fitness Award.
Her family recognizes how being involved in Reading Recovery helped Sarah develop skills in literacy and lifelong learning, as well as helping her to gain confidence in her own abilities as a learner.

This article first appeared in The Journal of Reading Recovery, vol. 4, no.2 (February 2005)