New York City’s schools chancellor, David C. Banks, has announced major changes to reading instruction in an effort to tackle the persistent problem of children struggling to acquire this crucial life skill. Banks said that the approach to teaching reading had been “fundamentally flawed” and had failed to follow the science of how students learn to read. The new plan is backed by the teachers’ union, but has attracted immediate skepticism from some teachers, who often say major changes come with insufficient training. It has also drawn ire from the city’s principals’ union, which has called a uniform curricular approach “pedagogically unsound” in such a large system.
Over the next two years, the city’s 32 local school districts will adopt one of three curriculums selected by their superintendents. The curriculums use evidence-supported practices, including phonics — which teaches children how to decode letter sounds — and avoid strategies many reading experts say are flawed, like teaching children to use picture clues to guess words. Half of the districts will begin the program in September; the others will start in 2024. Waivers to opt out will only be considered for schools where more than 85 percent of students are proficient in reading, a threshold that only about 20 schools meet.
The move represents the most significant reading overhaul in New York City since the early 2000s, when some of the programs that the chancellor is now trying to uproot were first ushered in. It will immediately place the city at the forefront of a growing national movement to reform reading instruction. Experts, lawmakers and families have pushed to abandon strategies that a mass of research shows do not work for all students and to embrace a set of practices known as the “science of reading.”
Research shows that a new curriculum alone does not boost student outcomes. Major changes require teachers to reshape their existing practices and understanding of a subject through intensive training and coaching. Otherwise, they may lean on old instincts. Several city principals have defended that curriculum publicly. Henry Rubio, head of the principals’ union, said a recent survey showed that three of four school leaders were “dissatisfied” with the plan’s rollout.
Under the plan, all school districts will adopt one of three curriculums that have received high marks from national curriculum review groups. The three choices have some significant differences: Wit & Wisdom is known for its robust focus on knowledge building, which is important for helping students understand what they read. It does not cover foundational skills like phonics, and would therefore be paired with a phonics program like Fundations, which many schools already use. Expeditionary Learning has an explicit phonics program, and includes texts that draw from concepts in other subjects such as social studies and a more robust writing component. It also has significant amounts of extra teaching materials and guidance that schools may need additional help to absorb. Into Reading is the most traditional option, a “basal” program that uses texts written specifically to teach reading.
The chancellor has found one key ally in Michael Mulgrew, the president of the teacher’s union, who has long advocated a more uniform citywide approach. “We are supportive of this idea,” Mr. Mulgrew said. “But there will be pessimism throughout schools,” he added. The shift marks the latest — and what the chancellor says ought to be the last — major swing of the pendulum in the city’s reading instruction.
Original Story at www.nytimes.com – 2023-05-09 12:55:50