Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education graduate students Andrea Suk, Faye Autry-Schreffler, Melissa Wicker and Tiffany Peltier participated in a literacy day at The Right Path Riding Academy in Drumright, Oklahoma, in April. The Right Path Riding Academy is an equestrian environment where participants with disabilities can engage in horseback riding, cart-driving and groundwork with the support of community volunteers. The literacy day event, however, is a bit different than their daily mission.
JRCoE Students Celebrate Literacy Day
at the Right Path Riding Academy
Prior to their literacy days, The Right Path Riding Academy delivers books on horses to first- and second-grade classrooms in rural Oklahoma – every student gets a book. The teachers guide students through a curriculum to read the book. Schools then bus students to The Right Path Riding Academy to participate in their “Horse Tales” day. Volunteers staff 17 different stations, including read to a horse, paint a horse, identify tack (saddles, reins) and horse nutrition. Over 60 children participated on this day, with hundreds more participating on other days. The four students will be providing recommendations to create additional stations for future literacy days – strongly linking best practices in literacy education to this event. They also will be submitting a publication to detail how equine facilities in rural areas can partner with schools to increase interest and skills in reading.
About these students:
Andrea L. Suk joined the Zarrow Center in 2016 as a doctoral Sooner Scholar focused on transition and applied behavior analysis. Suk is also a certified therapeutic horseback riding instructor through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship.
Faye Autry-Schreffler is a doctoral student finishing her last year at the University of Oklahoma. Her research interest includes applied behavioral analysis and equine-assisted therapy. Autry-Schreffler also owns and operates a horse and cattle ranch outside Norman.
Melissa Wicker is a doctoral student and has been with the Oklahoma Writing Project since 2016. Her area of focus is the literacies, identities and voices of Native American adolescents.
Tiffany Peltier joined Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education’s Educational Psychology department last fall to begin her doctorate in Special Education. She is researching teacher knowledge and training in reading instruction and intervention for students with reading difficulties, including dyslexia.