In Medford School district, only 44% of third graders are proficient in reading (across Oregon it’s 47%). In December, the Medford School Board wrote a letter to their legislators, asking them to raise “a sense of urgency around the very foundation of education, the teaching and learning of reading.” Their ask was simple. First require all Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) at Oregon colleges and universities to include scientifically-based reading instruction in their required courses. And second, require all candidates applying for a Preliminary Teaching license in elementary education to pass a rigorous test of research-based reading instruction and intervention, and data-based decision-making principles.
Has there been advocacy directed at University Board of Trustees? or Faculty Senate?
Raising the concern that the faculty are not working to update and modernize might be 'offensive' to the rest of the academy. Just getting the scrutiny process started from other academics could be helpful.
We cherish the concept of 'academic freedom' at our Universities for many great reasons - yet that freedom also entails a huge amount of responsibility to 'show your work' and justify or give an account of what has been done, what is being done, and what will be done in the future.
Having looked at the impressive list of volunteers at Oregon Kids Read, I would think you could create a very moving and compelling package to send to the Boards of Trustees that you combine with public comments at their meetings. Could be very powerful augmentation to the other great things y'all are doing. https://www.oregonkidsread.com/whoweare
I am very suspicious of "literacy advocates" who have not had explicit instruction in the process of teaching and learning literacy. Perhaps this is because I was trained in reading instruction as a special educator, so learned the different schools of thought.
But let's take a look at one of the real culprits in declining literacy--the exclusive focus on high-stakes reading assessment. I taught from 2004 to 2014, during the No Child Left Behind era and observed the decline then. Why? Because explicit instruction was interpreted to be "drill and kill" types of rote learning due to high classroom numbers. There was little focus on engagement. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Twilight series (I taught middle school), few students enjoyed reading.
Another culprit is the pushing down of reading expectations to lower and lower grades, until it becomes a delicate dance between developmental readiness and the standards. It used to be that we did not require kindergarten students to know their letter sounds at the beginning of the year. Now we do. Kindergarten students were not expected to be reading at the end of the school year. Now they are.
Coupled with the fact that tests are regularly renormed to match current expectations and performance levels, that adds to the very real fact that the standards may not reflect reality. Students acquire reading skills at different ages, which is one reason why special educators are reluctant to say that a student has a learning disability until third grade. But that's also why it's difficult to pinpoint reading learning disabilities (which are not all dylexia). Up until third grade, the standard is that a student is learning to read. From fourth grade on, students are reading to learn.
But let's not forget the need to engage students in the reading process. Too much of explicit instruction is about drilling and not enough about engagement. Programs such as Anita Archer's REWARDS are successful because they couple decoding with engagement, and teach reading using stories that students enjoy.
Small class sizes also make a significant difference, because--again--that allows for student-teacher engagement (gee, I seem to be rather fond of that word). I have observed student progress happening when there is a significant engagement and dialogue between students and teacher. It is easy to observe and correct errors early on in the learning process when teachers have time to spend with individual students. Reading aloud and discussing what is read helps not only with decoding but with understanding--but is incredibly difficult to do in large classes.
Are there any organized groups in Oregon who have been approached to help support legislation?
Thinking about Decoding Dyslexia-Oregon, PTA and Independent Party of Oregon as a starter list. (And does anyone have a list of all the organized groups who lobby on aspects of Education?)
How can we go about getting LTRS for Oregon teachers?
Just spit-balling some ideas.
Has there been advocacy directed at University Board of Trustees? or Faculty Senate?
Raising the concern that the faculty are not working to update and modernize might be 'offensive' to the rest of the academy. Just getting the scrutiny process started from other academics could be helpful.
We cherish the concept of 'academic freedom' at our Universities for many great reasons - yet that freedom also entails a huge amount of responsibility to 'show your work' and justify or give an account of what has been done, what is being done, and what will be done in the future.
Having looked at the impressive list of volunteers at Oregon Kids Read, I would think you could create a very moving and compelling package to send to the Boards of Trustees that you combine with public comments at their meetings. Could be very powerful augmentation to the other great things y'all are doing. https://www.oregonkidsread.com/whoweare
I am very suspicious of "literacy advocates" who have not had explicit instruction in the process of teaching and learning literacy. Perhaps this is because I was trained in reading instruction as a special educator, so learned the different schools of thought.
But let's take a look at one of the real culprits in declining literacy--the exclusive focus on high-stakes reading assessment. I taught from 2004 to 2014, during the No Child Left Behind era and observed the decline then. Why? Because explicit instruction was interpreted to be "drill and kill" types of rote learning due to high classroom numbers. There was little focus on engagement. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Twilight series (I taught middle school), few students enjoyed reading.
Another culprit is the pushing down of reading expectations to lower and lower grades, until it becomes a delicate dance between developmental readiness and the standards. It used to be that we did not require kindergarten students to know their letter sounds at the beginning of the year. Now we do. Kindergarten students were not expected to be reading at the end of the school year. Now they are.
Coupled with the fact that tests are regularly renormed to match current expectations and performance levels, that adds to the very real fact that the standards may not reflect reality. Students acquire reading skills at different ages, which is one reason why special educators are reluctant to say that a student has a learning disability until third grade. But that's also why it's difficult to pinpoint reading learning disabilities (which are not all dylexia). Up until third grade, the standard is that a student is learning to read. From fourth grade on, students are reading to learn.
But let's not forget the need to engage students in the reading process. Too much of explicit instruction is about drilling and not enough about engagement. Programs such as Anita Archer's REWARDS are successful because they couple decoding with engagement, and teach reading using stories that students enjoy.
Small class sizes also make a significant difference, because--again--that allows for student-teacher engagement (gee, I seem to be rather fond of that word). I have observed student progress happening when there is a significant engagement and dialogue between students and teacher. It is easy to observe and correct errors early on in the learning process when teachers have time to spend with individual students. Reading aloud and discussing what is read helps not only with decoding but with understanding--but is incredibly difficult to do in large classes.
Are there any organized groups in Oregon who have been approached to help support legislation?
Thinking about Decoding Dyslexia-Oregon, PTA and Independent Party of Oregon as a starter list. (And does anyone have a list of all the organized groups who lobby on aspects of Education?)