In truth, I remember thinking, she was just a grandma. Just someone who had a family and grandchildren and possibly great grandchildren and she lived her life simply, I figured. But she was also a researcher, a learner, a brilliant mind and she will be missed.
Marie Clay, to those of you who don't know, was the creator, founder of Reading Recovery...a reading intervention that has helped millions of struggling readers learn to be successful. I am a Reading Recovery teacher and I know first hand the legacy she has left behind.
Let me tell you about Markeesha, who had never had a book at her house until I handed her that green bag filled with books she could read. It was as if I had given her gold. She had two brothers in her house who were already in trouble, and she was just trying to stay afloat. Her mom was working two jobs and her dad was in jail and she stayed with grandma most of the time. She wasn't a reader when she began, but she BECAME a reader. She became successful and empowered. She became someone, and she knew it. Her whole personality changed. She became a child who believed in herself and in others around her. She moved from the timid, shy little girl, to a confident learner and reader. This was because of Marie Clay. This was because of Reading Recovery, and what I have learned through training for Reading Recovery.
I am forever thankful for the opportunity to learn to be a Reading Recovery teacher. I am thankful for the knowledge that I have gained. And I am thankful for Marie Clay, who looked like just a grandma, for making it all happen, for helping hundreds of teachers help millions of kids like Markeesha, learn to be someone in the world.
Rest in Peace, Marie Clay.
We will miss you.
