摘要: Connie Luna is now entering her 3rd year as a reading specialist at Progreso Elementary School. Progreso Elementary is a K–5 school located in the heart of a metropolitan area in the Southwest. The school serves families of Hispanic descent living right at or below the line of poverty. Two administrators and 44 staff members (34 teachers and 10 instructional aides) support 645 students, many of whom are classified as English Language Learners. The majority of the teachers are of the same ethnicity as the students, and many have more than 20 years of teaching experience. This year there are five beginning teachers on this campus. Connie had extensive experience as a classroom teacher at Progreso prior to assuming the role of reading specialist. Her peers recognized her for her innovative teaching practices, in particular in her language arts program. She completed the reading specialist degree program at an area university while she was working as a classroom teacher. Progreso Elementary School has struggled to meet state standards on reading achievement and has come under pressure from the district to raise scores. The reading specialist position was created 3 years ago to help raise reading skill levels. Connie was hired to lead this effort. The road, however, has not been easy for her. She has mostly been working with low-skill children on a pullout basis. While she has experienced some success at this level, she feels she has had little impact at the school and program level. Many of the teachers at Progreso are teaching the same way they have been for years. However, there is a small core group of teachers that are working …