Ed Schollenberger is the principal of Foothills Elementary School in Riverton, Utah. He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in administration from Brigham Young University. Schollenberger began teaching second grade in 1977, after which he taught a combined third, fourth, and fifth grade class. He then taught first grade for 17 years. In 1993, he was chosen as a Huntsman Award winner. Schollenberger began using Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself in the spring of 1987 while teaching first grade at Barnett School. He then taught one year of fifth grade and also used DIP with those students. When he became principal at Park Elementary in Spanish Fork, Utah, he taught DIP to all of his teachers at the school. He also held parent nights to give an overview of the program to moms and dads so they could have a better understanding of what their students were learning. He has used Discover Intensive Phonics for 16 years in four different schools.
He says, “I am a strong believer that starting a child off with phonics in Kindergarten, first, and second grades and giving them a strong and firm foundation will really help with reading, comprehension, and spelling. I believe the greatest strength of the Intensive Phonics program is the systematic approach and how the concepts continue on through the entire program and build upon each other. The constant reinforcement of what was learned months ago keeps students alert and (helps them) remember all the phonics rules they will use (for) their entire lives.”
