Volunteer readers gather in the library of Bryant School in Bridgeport before heading off to classrooms for the 33rd Annual Read Aloud Day in Bridgeport in 2018.
Brian A. Pounds, Staff Photographer / Hearst Connecticut MediaMarch 2 was Read Across America Day. But here in Connecticut, too many students struggle to gain that skill. On the latest statewide assessment, less than half of Connecticut’s third graders met grade-level expectations in English Language Arts. Only three districts in the state had 80 percent or more meeting these benchmarks. These outcomes indicate that we are leaving many young students behind.
Appropriately, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Education Committee spent much of March 1 hearing from constituents about a bill that would adjust the timeline in the 2021 “Right to Read” legislation to accommodate districts making ambitious changes. “Right to Read" systematized a statewide response to Connecticut's early literacy crisis by having all districts implement evidence-based early literacy curricula that are preapproved by the state; executing a coordinated statewide reading plan; providing districts with professional development aligned to the Science of Reading; and collaborating with teacher preparation programs to orient training for prospective teachers.
Most teachers have begun enthusiastically weaving new knowledge about the Science of Reading into their classrooms. Under the resolute leadership of the Connecticut State Department of Education, this has become a model for other states struggling to improve literacy outcomes.
However, some Connecticut superintendents are asking to slow-walk implementation of “Right to Read,” and — concerningly — many manage districts where more than half of their third graders are not reading at grade level. That’s a shame. Our teachers and administrators are putting in the time and care, but systemic change on literacy instruction will require district-level leadership.
The preapproved curricula are only a single step resulting from “Right to Read.” Yet critics of the effort have focused myopically on the curricular requirements, asserting alternately that the state is treating so-called “boxed programs” as a cure-all, that this is an unfunded mandate, and that it would be better for Connecticut to adopt its own model curriculum. Some seem to have spent more time on trying to obtain a waiver from the bill’s requirements than understanding the goals and benefits for students.
As Sen. Pat Billie Miller pointed out during the public hearing, districts regularly purchase commercial “boxed” curricula across various subjects. Perhaps that is why we never hear objections about purchasing a math curriculum from a box! The state’s curricular requirements simply prevent districts from layering evidence-based professional development over misaligned literacy curricula. It’s logical: If they’re going to bring the Science of Reading to their classrooms, they must use a core curriculum that is aligned to the Science of Reading. Propping up a discredited balanced literacy curriculum (that also comes in a box) with a phonics-based supplement is wasteful for districts and confusing in the classroom.
The second point of concern made at the hearing was about the need for resources so that districts can implement “Right to Read” effectively. The state has set aside $25.6 million for the purpose of assisting districts in purchasing programs, offering professional development, and staffing the Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success to oversee this effort. Districts that have agreed to be early adopters of the legislation have positioned themselves well for these resources.
There also appears to be an attempt, amid all of the earnest planning in many communities, to stall this progress. Some are calling for the creation of a “working group” to begin drafting a model reading curriculum for Connecticut. Why move backwards when we have come this far? Model curricula have, to date, been optional to adopt in the state, and therefore perpetuate the practices that have left many districts without a uniform plan.
From our view, the “working groups” completed their work by passing “Right to Read” in 2021. Sitting at that table were many superintendents, educators, literacy experts, the UConn Neag School of Education, legislators and advocates.
With respect, the emergency for students is now. Districts attempting to take the same old path will find themselves in the same old place. For students struggling to read, let’s get on with the work together.
Amy Dowell is the executive director of Education Reform Now CT , and a member of the Right to Read CT Coalition .