Reading Apprenticeship® Helps Renton Technical College Become a Leader

Achieving the Dream — September 28, 2011

During the last three years, the WestEd Reading Apprenticeship program has helped Renton Technical College (RTC) increase the number of students who have earned a certificate or degree or are still enrolled by more than 20%.

For raising graduation rates, closing achievement gaps, and changing lives, RTC has been named a Leader College by Achieving the Dream.

Achieving the Dream, Inc., is a national nonprofit that helps community college students stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.

RTC, based in Renton, WA, has been incorporating Reading Apprenticeship in a number of programs and departments since a team of faculty members attended a Leadership Institute for Reading Apprenticeship in 2008.

Reading Apprenticeship, a research-based framework, supports middle and high school, and community college students to develop positive literacy identities and engage with challenging academic texts. Funding from the U.S. Department of Education is supporting a five-year effort, known as RAISE, to increase implementation of Reading Apprenticeship in high school content area classes serving over 400,000 students in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, and Utah.