West Babylon School District's proposal titled, Extending Balanced Literacy Through Work Stations, was recently accepted by the International Reading Association. The proposal, drafted by Director of Language Arts and Testing Carol Varsalona and South Bay Elementary School Principal JoAnn Scott, outlines their plan for the district's strategic reading initiative. The goals of their initiative are to increase independent learning for elementary readers, thus leading to the transformation of the landscape of the literacy classroom into an active learning environ- ment.

Acceptance of this proposal is prestigious for the district as only 40 percent of all proposals to the International Reading Association are accepted. As part of the acceptance of their proposal, Varsalona and Scott are invited to participate at the 52nd International Reading Association's Annual Convention program in Toronto, where the district will receive national exposure on their belief in promoting sound literacy practices for elementary learners.