Literacy Now

Last week, a group of students, parents, and advocacy organizations (CADRE and Fathers & Families of San Joaquin) filed a class action lawsuit against California, alleging that the state is not fulfilling its constitutional duty to provide a basic education for every student.

Represented by Public Counsel, an advocacy law firm, the plaintiffs are current and former students and teachers at La Salle Avenue Elementary School, Van Buren Elementary School, and the charter school Children of Promise Preparatory Academy—three of the lowest performing schools in the United States.

The lawsuit points a finger at the state’s own recommendations to improve literacy, outlined in a 2012 report commissioned by the state superintendent and state board of education president.  According to the civil action, the state has not adopted or implemented an adequate plan based on those suggestions, and therefore failed to intervene on behalf of low-performing students.

Public Counsel filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of students in Detroit schools last year. As Education Week noted, the proximity of these cases raises an overdue and important argument about the relationship of literacy to citizenship: “Is it possible to be a participating member of society without the ability to read and write?”

Life, literacy, and the pursuit of happiness

If you asked Paul Boyd-Batstone, professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education at California State University, Long Beach, he would answer with an emphatic “no.” He believes literacy is the common thread binding all curricular areas—when that thread starts to unravel, it disrupts all other learning.

“I don’t know if you can have a quality education without quality literacy instruction,” said Boyd-Batstone. “Maybe legally you can make that distinction, but I don’t think practically, in a school setting.”

According to Stanford University researchers’ ranking, 11 of the nation’s 26 lowest performing schools are in California. In 2016–2017, the schoolwide proficiency rates in reading at La Salle Avenue, Van Buren, and Children of Promise, respectively, were 4%, 6%, and 11%.

“When I saw those numbers, my first question was, What are the libraries like at those schools?” said Boyd-Batstone.

Diane Lapp, distinguished professor of education in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and chair of ILA’s Literacy Research Panel, feels that the literacy crisis undermines another unalienable right—the pursuit of happiness.

“To be happy, one has to have a productive life. Reading is a part of that. You need to be able to interpret information and analyze sources to make informed decisions and be an active citizen,” she said. “If you can’t communicate through language, whether it’s output or input, I don’t believe you’re going to have a very happy life.”

Prioritizing parent engagement

The plaintiffs are asking the state to meet its constitutional obligations by ensuring that all schools deliver proven literacy screening, instruction, intervention and assessment; provide adequate support and resources for teachers; and implement stronger accountability measures.

Boyd-Batstone said the demands put forth by the lawsuit are “well researched and address the needs of all children.” He advocates for a systematic approach that holds all parties responsible—national and state education agencies, administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and the students themselves.

Both Lapp and Boyd-Batstone underlined the critical importance of early intervention, at home and in the classroom.

“A few years ago, a colleague and I did a study in which we asked parents about their role in early literacy. They all said they didn’t know enough about early literacy and that they waited on the school to do it,” said Lapp. “If you wait until the child is five years old, you’re already five years behind.”

Boyd-Batstone recalled one of the most effective examples of parent involvement he’s seen in his more than 30 years as an educator. A principal in an urban, low-income public school in California hired a literacy coach to manage a parent drop-in center, where he taught parents, literate and illiterate, how to engage in meaningful literacy activities with their children.

“It became a community resource,” he said. “I love the idea of breaking down the walls between the community and school.”

Our children, not “their children”

Although Boyd-Batstone is supportive of the civil action, he said its success rests heavily on public dialogue, awareness, and concern. Literacy is everyone’s problem, as it can be connected to almost every socioeconomic issue.

“I think there’s a tremendous need to shift the discussion away from helping those children to helping all of our children—English learners, students with special needs, underserved populations,” he said. “The better we can serve all children, the better California will be.”

For more information on the lawsuit, visit literacycalifornia.com

Alina O'Donnell is the editor of Literacy Daily.

It is widely recognized that we are living in a "knowledge economy." The term, popularized by Peter Drucker in his prescient 1969 book, The Age of Discontinuity (HarperCollins), is used to describe an economy in which growth is dependent on the quantity, quality, and accessibility of information, rather than on the means of production.

How do we prepare our children for a future where information is everything and the jobs they will apply for may not yet exist?  Their success will rely on their ability to access—and to make sense of—an overabundance of information.

We can call this "the language of power”—the ability to translate seemingly unrelated data into an executable plan. This idea is directly tied to closing the opportunity gap for our youth.

To reach this goal requires a much more concerted effort to overcome the class-based literacy divide, which remains stubbornly in place. School districts must make it a priority that every student can read at or above grade level because when students are fully literate—regardless of zip code, mobility, or poverty—everything changes.

When the critical mass of students within a school district can read at or above grade level, it need not be a miraculous event. Success does, however, depend on three key ingredients:  commitment, coaching, and family engagement.

• Commitment: There is no silver bullet for creating systems that support literacy; it just requires hard work and dedication from everyone involved—from the central office to the principal, teachers, students, and parents/guardians. When the science of reading is embedded in a school through increasing leader and teacher knowledge, schools become literacy incubators. Children blossom within these conditions, and we level the playing field, bringing all children together in intellectual experience and a future of achievement.
• Coaching: No one gets good at anything without coaching. School leaders and teachers can participate in excellent professional development courses and leave full of enthusiasm, but research has shown that adaptation of the best practices taught in these courses is negligible. However, when effective professional development is followed by ongoing classroom coaching, adaptation skyrockets to 95%.
• Family engagement: Home is where literacy takes root. To sustain positive change in schools requires engaging the family as part of each child's "learning team." Dispelling the notion that some parents don't care, and educating future teachers and leaders on the best ways to engage parents, is a piece of the puzzle we rarely examine in educational circles. With an invested principal, strong and committed teaching staff, and an aligned curriculum in place, schools can amplify their efforts by connecting family outreach to student learning in explicit, practical, and engaging experiences.

In my many years as a teacher, district leader, and educational consultant, and as the child of parents who came from extreme poverty and broke the cycle through literacy, I have seen firsthand that when taught a love of reading and learning at an early age, children internalize the language of power. In doing so, they take the first important step toward full participation in today's economy. 

Tracy Weeden, is president and CEO of Neuhaus Education Center, a Houston-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting reading success through teacher training and coaching, information and resources for parents, and direct literacy services for adults. Neuhaus works with school districts nationwide to improve their literacy programs. For more information, visit www.neuhaus.org. 

Although all educators acknowledge the critical importance of literacy for student success, schools have a long way to go in implementing sustained, high-quality literacy programs. According to Education Dive, one common barrier is that principals do not have the content area expertise to become literacy leaders. Another is that they do not have leadership skills to guide a schoolwide literacy improvement effort.

Teachers are only as strong as the school’s leadership—without adequate scaffolding and support, even the most competent and ambitious educators will find it difficult—if not impossible—to bring about meaningful change.

The House spending proposal for education for the next budget year would cut $2.4 billion in funding for the Supporting Effective Instruction grant program, also known as Title II—which provides federal funds to recruit, retain, and train high-quality teachers, principals, and school leaders. 

Last Wednesday, the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) cosponsored a briefing titled “Improving Student Literacy: Leadership Needed at Every Level” in Washington, DC. The briefing brought together a group of literacy leaders, policymakers, advocates, and educators who spoke to Congressional staffers from key Senate and House education committees about the critical importance of effective leadership at all levels.

Empowering teachers to become real leaders

Dan Mangan, ILA’s director of public affairs, welcomed guests and introduced Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), who set the stage with remarks touting the importance of teacher leadership. He attributed high teacher turnover rates to a lack of administrative support, professional learning opportunities, and decision-making input.

“We have to find better ways for teachers to become real leaders,” said Coons. “How many of our students struggle in school where they don’t have the teaching resources they deserve and where teachers struggle to find leadership and growth opportunities for themselves?”

For most teachers, said Coons, the only pathway to advancement is by becoming an administrator. He believes that teachers need opportunities to become leaders without having to leave the classroom.

Coons also cited the Teachers Are Leaders Act, a bipartisan bill he introduced with Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jack Reed (D-RI). If passed, the act would leverage the expertise of teacher preparation programs to design and implement new teacher leader roles.

“We’re making sure we invest in the teachers who instruct, train, and are critical role models to our children,” said Coons. “Research shows that when we empower teachers to lead, our schools and our students are stronger.”

Behind every effective teacher is an effective principal

Kelly Pollitt, chief advocacy officer of the National School Boards Association, opened the panel presentation in her role as moderator.  She introduced the three key speakers—a district superintendent, a middle school principal, and a principal educator—who would collectively impart the “magic ingredients” of successful literacy leadership.

Pollitt prefaced with an urgent reminder that now, more than ever, school leadership can affect student achievement. She said it’s critically important that literacy continues to be a national priority.

“We know that the first and most important school-based factor that influences student learning is the teacher,” she said. “Behind every effective teacher is an effective principal.”

Literacy = the vaccine for poverty

Pollitt first introduced ILA Board member Stephen Peters, the CEO of The Peters Group and founder of the Gentlemen’s and Ladies Club programs, which provide mentorship opportunities for at-risk and honor students throughout the United States

When Peters was a child, his father always told him that “literacy is the vaccine for poverty.” Peters continues to embrace this phrase today in his role as superintendent of Laurens County 55 School District.

Peters shared some secrets to his success in cultivating a schoolwide culture of literacy, such as increasing classroom reading time, mandating take-home reading, and implementing regular professional development.

Family and community engagement is another key feature of his approach—on the first day of school each year, faculty from Laurens County 55 School District go door-to-door into local neighborhoods, introducing themselves to parents and students.

For teachers to teach at their best and for students to learn at the highest level, principals need to define and promote high expectations, according to Peters. He believes superintendents play a critical role in cultivating leadership skills among all teachers and faculty.

Breaking the cycle

Doris Lee, founder and principal of Village Academy, an New York City middle school in Far Rockaway that’s part of a major program called the Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI), has also focused her efforts on professional learning. Teachers at Village Academy collaborate in their respective subject areas and grade teams to develop instructional plans, to engage in professional learning communities, and to address the diverse social and emotional needs of students.

“As our student population changes, the learning has to continue,” said Lee. “We need ongoing support to ensure that we can meet the needs of every single child.”

Lee said this model has been proven to improve student learning outcomes; from 2016 to 2017, Village Academy saw a 19% increase in performance on state standardized English language arts test scores and, more important, a sustained baseline over a measure period when the New York City average declined significantly.

Moreover, Lee has succeeded in closing achievement gaps—an accomplishment that would have been impossible without strong teacher education, she said.

“Poverty is cyclical, and literacy can break the cycle,” said Lee. “But educators need training to be effective.”

Preparing principals to close achievement gaps

ILA’s William Teale, professor in the Literacy, Language & Culture Program and University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), presented on Stanford University’s recently published study, which demonstrates the outperformance of Chicago Public Schools against the national average.

Another local study shows that percentages of freshman on-track, annual achievement gains, attendance and graduation rates were significantly higher in schools whose principals were graduates of UIC’s principal preparation program, which include a course on literacy leadership.

Teale pointed to this research as evidence that greater success is achieved when teachers are backed by strong leaders.

“You are never going to learn to be a good principal by sitting in a classroom and reading,” said Teale. “You need to get out there and do things in schools.”

The key to schoolwide success

JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP, closed with a call to action, reiterating the critical importance of restoring Title II funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act. 

She said that the key to schoolwide success is common ownership over a shared vision and set of goals. She believes that every educator has a stake in—and a responsibility to—support literacy education, as every learning opportunity relies on literacy skills.

“Literacy is the great gateway to the critical and creative thinking that has always been the hallmark of our nation’s progress.”

Alina O'Donnell is the editor of Literacy Daily.

September marked the 60th anniversary of Little Rock Nine, a pivotal moment in the march toward educational equity in the United States. Yet, despite tremendous progress made over the last six decades, data show that racial gaps stubbornly remain. As we examine inequity across the United States, we know that literacy is the gatekeeper to overall academic success—opening a world of possibilities for students.

As educators, what can we do to help close the achievement gap for minority and low-income students? And what role does literacy play in these efforts? With so many factors to consider—pedagogy, technology, assessment, teacher preparation, professional learning, and more—where do we begin?

ILA will confront these questions head-on at ILA West 2018, to take place March 16–17 in San Diego, CA. With the theme “Literacy: A Pathway to Equity,” the inaugural conference will give attendees the tools they need to attain more equitable learning environments through general session talks, hands-on learning, and community building.

“ILA believes that literacy is integral to leveling outcomes for kids,” said ILA President of the Board Doug Fisher, during an appearance on Education Talk Radio today. “[ILA West 2018] is a really powerful event to help us think about what do we need to do to ratchet up our learning expectations and our strategies to deliver on that promise.”

Among 19 celebrated leaders in educational equity, keynote speakers Stephen Peters, superintendent of Laurens County School District 55, South Carolina, and CEO and president of the Peters Group; Glenn Singleton, founder of Pacific Educational Group Inc. (PEG) and author of Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools; and Valerie Ooka Pang, professor at San Diego State University and author of Diversity and Equity in the Classroom and Multicultural Education: A Caring-Centered, Reflective Approach; will share their equity-based, literacy-driven, blueprints for reform.

Attendees will also hear from Olivia Amador, founder of Few for Change, Jana Echevarria, internationally known researcher and codeveloper of the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Model, and Cornelius Minor, lead staff developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

Designed to deliver more focused sessions and to encourage a schoolwide approach, ILA West 2018 will feature three strands—teachers and coaches, early childhood educators, and administrators. All attendees will leave with culturally responsive pedagogical approaches; practical, proven “use-it-tomorrow” instructional strategies; administrative supports, and more.

“Every student deserves a great teacher. Not by chance, but by design,” said Fisher. “A lot of our education is up to chance. We’re on a mission to reduce that variability.”

Over the next few months, we’ll introduce some of the faces of ILA West 2018 and offer sneak peeks into programming. Stay tuned!  

Learn more or register for ILA West 2018 here.

Alina O’Donnell is the editor of Literacy Daily.

The use of standardized test scores to measure reading proficiency is a long-standing source of debate in education reform. Although these scores provide useful information that may contribute to students’ reading growth, they are often considered the “coin of the realm”—silencing other valuable indicators and assessments while disproportionately influencing important educational decisions. Furthermore, low test scores can have cascading, negative impacts on students, schools and their surrounding communities—leading to poor student morale, high staff turnover, lower real estate prices and more.

According to ILA’s recent brief, the dominance of standardized reading tests “stems from an insufficient understanding of their limitations.” Without endorsing or negating their value, the brief explores the roles, uses and caveats of standardized reading tests to assess student achievement, compare students, evaluate programs, create educational policy and determine accountability.

ILA advocates for a different weighting of standardized reading tests as well as a more thorough understanding of reading development that recognizes “an array of formative classroom-based assessments.” The brief ends with five salient considerations that teachers and administrators can use to inform internal decision making:

• There is no research that supports a correlation between increased standardized testing and increased reading achievement.
• Standardized reading tests do not fully reflect students’ reading achievement and development.
• Standardized reading tests can impede the development of students’ self-efficacy and motivation.
• Standardized reading tests confine reading curriculum and can undermine high-quality teaching.
• Standardized reading tests are time-consuming and expensive—demanding resources that could be used to support students’ reading achievement in other ways.

To read more, visit the brief here.

Alina O'Donnell is the editor of Literacy Daily.