Who We Are
The Reading Lions Center (RLC) works in partnership with California districts and schools state-wide to provide a coordinated system of services for implementing and sustaining effective research-based instruction in reading and language arts in kindergarten through grade six.What We Believe
The RLC believes that children will learn if adequately taught. Therefore, the RLC’s goal is to provide quality services that translate the scientific research into effective practices that will improve teaching and district infrastructure.Our Mission
The RLC’s mission is to improve academic achievement of all students by building district, school, and classroom capacity to ensure that the best research-based reading programs are effectively delivered to all students.Our Services
The RLC provides services in a flexible manner and are tailored to meet the needs of its clients. It offers integrated services and support in the areas of professional development, technical assistance, and data services.Professional development
The RLC developed the model for long-term, effective professional development for elementary reading, including the training of instructors, the development of training materials, and the design and delivery of a complete set of follow-up activities. The RLC professional development services are state-approved and provide research-based strategies that directly support state-adopted reading/language arts programs for kindergarten through grade six. Professional development is offered through site, district, regional and state-wide events. The RLC works directly with instructors to ensure that they know the material and are appropriately trained to deliver it effectively. The RLC offers a variety of professional development opportunities for three audiences:Technical assistance
Using their years of field experience and expertise in research-based reading-language arts instruction and student achievement data, the RLC technical assistance teams consult with districts to assist them in planning the professional development for teachers, coaches, principals, and district leadership. It is the goal of the RLC to match professional development with the needs of districts to ensure rigorous implementation (or instruction) of the reading programs to increase student achievement. The technical assistance teams (California Technical Assistance Center and Regional Technical Assistance Center) specifically:- Support districts with the implementation of reading programs through school-site visits which include review of student data, classroom observations, debriefings, and training
- Provide consultation services for school and district leadership on how to strengthen instruction to increase student achievement
Data services
The data services portion of the RLC supports the professional development and technical assistance areas in three ways, primarily:- Professional and technnical assistance event management web sites.
- Maintaining an archive of professional development in English/Language Arts statewide.
- Processing and reporting on data to meet programmatic requirements (such as Reading First's Achievement Index) and other special reports (such as calread.net/api/).
The data services unit offers these services to other divisions of the RLC as well as external clients:
- Designing and constructing databases to process, manage, or archive data.
- Designing and constructing data-driven web applications.
- Designing, constructing, and maintaining informational websites.
Our Products
The RLC produces a variety of products that support the professional development that it offers. These products include: instructor guides and participant notebooks, charts, DVDs, research anthologies, and other publications.
Our Clients
The RLC supports the following clients:- Schools and Districts: Teachers, Coaches, Principals, District Administrators
- Reading Implementation Centers (RIC) at seven County Offices of Education
- Regional Technical Assistance Centers (R-TAC) at eight County Offices of Education
- California Department of Education
