It was so inspiring to be in beautiful Portland, Oregon last week, presenting with two Oregon literacy champions, Dr. Lisa McCall and Sarita Amaya, as part of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents conference.
We’ve been in a literacy crisis in this country for so long, it’s easy to think we’re doing all we can— or to blame COVID — and lose the sense of extreme urgency around ensuring all kids are proficient readers. The longer this takes, the more kids fall through the cracks without learning to read, and it’s not acceptable.
Knowing you can’t read when most of your peers can is really hard—kids struggle with shame. I know teachers are also frustrated because they just don’t have enough time in the school day to deliver high-quality Tier 1 instruction AND give each individual child the precise amount of direct instruction and practice they need to become fluent readers.
The kids at schools across Oregon, including students from Tigard-Tualatin and Beaverton, are killing it! The students who are furthest behind are making the most progress. For every week in the Ignite Reading program, we see students making at least 2 weeks of academic progress, including multilingual learners and students with IEPs. It’s a clear testament that kids can become fluent readers when we give them the right curriculum and targeted differentiated instruction to get them there.
Thank you to our district partners in Oregon and around the country who are doing what it takes for kids. They know that most kids need differentiated instruction to learn to read, and they need a curriculum grounded in the science of reading. Kids do not have time to waste. Solutions exist. It’s time we used them.
#Education #Literacy #IgniteReading
