Instructor Spotlight: Anne-Lys Patton
Anne-Lys Patton with her literacy intervention materials!
We are proud to spotlight Anne-Lys Patton: a school-based Literacy Coach and exemplary Reading Rescue (RR) Program Coordinator at P.S. 115 in Brooklyn. Anne-Lys has worked in the NYC Department of Education for 21 years. She hails from a family of educators; her family consists of many teachers and she was exposed to the field of education from a young age. We celebrate her dedication to students and instructors, as well as her leadership as a first-year Program Coordinator overseeing this critical intervention work in her school.
Anne-Lys’s day-to-day responsibilities at P.S. 115 vary. In addition to supervising Kindergarten lunch and working with various K-2 students who need literacy support, she advises and oversees the school’s group of trained Reading Rescue instructors. She was nervous to lead the group at first since this was her first year doing this intervention with students, but over time she naturally fell into the role and led with passion, organization, and dedication every day. Anne-Lys noted that Literacy Trust’s professional development was very thorough and prepared her to lead the 7-person instructor team, which is comprised of a mix of new and returning RR instructors.
“Anne-Lys has shown such great leadership for the Reading Rescue team. She is a first year Program Coordinator. From the start of this year, she jumped right in, learned the program, and has been an excellent resource for her team. Although there have been many disruptions during this school year, Anne-Lys has led her team to provide consistent support for the students of P.S. 115 K.”
During the COVID-19 Omicron surge in December and January this school year, schools were under-resourced and lacking capacity, since many educators and students needed to quarantine amid the mounting number of COVID cases. Anne-Lys described that she felt the effects of this in her own school: many educators could not come into school, causing others to be pulled into classrooms for coverage. This made Anne-Lys’s ability to do her job as Program Coordinator more difficult. She was not able to work with her student as much, and scheduling with both students and instructors became increasingly difficult. However, she noted that she remained gracious and mission-focused, using all the tools available to her including our online portal: “I tried to just stay calm. January was definitely a challenge but we conducted lessons and easing in/out remotely whenever possible.”
Anne-Lys has found it extremely rewarding to work with students who are learning to read. One of her students was reading a book and at the end, there was a list of books that were on the same reading level. The student was excited and exclaimed at the different book names: “Oh I can read that one.. and that one!” Fostering a love for reading is one of the effects of helping a student reach the appropriate reading level. Students become fluent, confident readers that are excited to read more books and discover the worlds within them. Anne-Lys described that she has enjoyed watching students grow–they have become more self-assured and made connections with different books they read, showing that they are truly comprehending the texts.
Anne-Lys has found support in Kanika Mobley, the Literacy Trust Program Manager who supports P.S. 115’s programming. “Kanika is so responsive and is kind and helpful with her feedback to me. I can always trust her to give me ways to improve, all while having a big smile on her face!” said Anne-Lys.
“It has been a marvelous opportunity to step into the role of a Program Coordinator. I see literacy and my role as a school-based literacy coach through a new lense. I am so passionate about reading and lifting our students up, and this role has been so refreshing and gratifying because I get to be a part of the solution to the problem.”
In a time when literacy interventions are needed more than ever after extensive learning setbacks and trauma in hard-hit communities, instructors and Program Coordinators like Anny-Lys are doing the on-the-ground work in ensuring every student has access to quality, effective literacy instruction. Thank you, Anne-Lys and the entire team at P.S. 115, for all the work that you do for your students and community-at-large.
* Check out a blog post we posted in 2020 on the value of one-to-one instruction!