MIAMI HERALD
NEIGHBORS
Sunday, May 30, 1999
COCONUT GROVE
Colors help neighborhood kids learn new words
By PAOLA IUSPA
Herald Writer

Breanna Williams sees color in her words.

Nearly every day, the 6-year-old goes to the Barnyard Community Center after
school.

Since October, she and the other neighborhood kids who gather at the West
Grove center have been learning to read a new way -- using a system developed by South Miami resident Jeffrey B. Reiter.

Called Tailored Reading, the method uses color-coded cards to help kids learn
new words.

Barnyard tutors use the cards to teach kids new words by associating them with
words they already know.

``For them, it is a game matching colors,'' said Melissa Diaz, 23, one of the four
tutors in the program. ``It is not like school.''

The Barnyard Community Center, 3870 Washington Ave., started Tailored
Reading as part of its after-school activities for children in kindergarten to fifth
grade.

Students from F.S. Tucker Elementary, Coconut Grove Elementary and G.W.
Carver Elementary go to the Barnyard to do their homework, get help with school work and to play under adult supervision while waiting for their parents to pick them up.

Reiter, who is a former teacher and has a master's degree in learning disabilities,
says he began developing the system more than three decades ago -- to
overcome his own learning difficulties.

``I had trouble remembering,'' he said. ``So I had to come up with something to
help myself.''

He says ``at-risk'' readers develop increasing trouble recognizing words, phonics or vocabulary as soon as they start formal instruction -- making reading very difficult and frustrating.

``By finding and filling those gaps,'' said Reiter, ``children become motivated to
read. They also become more self-confident.''

The system also is designed to be fun and, even after a full school day, kids
always have enough energy to have a good time.

``I don't think they know they are learning,'' said 26-year-old Kevrette Wells,
another Tailored Reading tutor. ``They think they are playing; they come to me
and say, `Can I read, please?' ''

The Barnyard has about 130 students, each of whom has been tested to measure their reading skills. Kids who need special help are put into Reiter's program.

``About 26 children are in this reading program,'' said Ellen Collesano, coordinator of special programs at the Barnyard.

The Tailored Reading program costs about $15,000 a year to run, and it's made
possible thanks to private grants.

``We just ran out of money and we can't pay any salaries anymore,'' said
Collesano. ``But Mr. Reiter and the tutors are still here because they like to help
the kids.''

Collesano says the private grants were renewed and the reading program will start getting financial support in September -- so the Barnyard will be able to provide Tailored Reading for another year.

Reiter's goal is to make his program available to other agencies and is in the
process of getting the program evaluated by Miami-Dade County Schools or other local academic institutions.

The program, he says, is very easy to duplicate, so he is willing to train parents,
volunteers or groups that work with at-risk readers.

There is another step to Reiter's program -- one designed to work against violence or drugs.

Once kids have mastered at least 12 words, they are given ``Partner Plays'' to
practice reading. The plays are a series of short dialogues with anti-drug or
anti-violence messages.

For some parents, this program seems to be a miracle.

``She is very happy at the Barnyard,'' said Renita Samuel, talking about her
5-year-old daughter, Sierra. ``She likes to come home to read and do her
homework.''