The new “Back to Basics”reading plan was announced recently by Governor Kathy Hochul as part of her 2024 State of the State address.

According to state officials, students who do not achieve proficiency in reading by the end of grade three are four times as likely to drop out of school.

Canton Central officials shared similar concerns, leading elementary teachers and administrators to study the issue and participate in a Science of Reading professional study group.

“There has been both regional and national evidence that reading proficiency has been declining among school children, in particular over the past 20 years,” said Viola Schmid-Doyle, Banford Elementary principal at Canton Central School.

As part of the new plan, schools will teach phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, state officials said. 

“Reading proficiency has declined; however, we believe there are several contributing factors beyond school programming that have impacted student achievement in the area of reading,” said  Brooke Reid, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, technology & assessment at Ogdensburg City School District.

Reading performance is declining in other districts as well. 

“Our student performance is not where it needs to be, according to Norwood-Norfolk Central Superintendent Jamie Cruikshank. “I cannot attribute this entirely to the state’s initiative, or lack of a literacy initiative until this point, as several factors influence student performance.”

However, local supers are confident they are addressing the issue, and may even be ahead of the state. 

“I am confident that we are ahead of the game here in Potsdam,” said Potsdam Central Superintendent Jerry Griffin.

SLC Schools Ahead of Curve

“It is heartening to see the state leadership prioritize evidence-based methods for teaching reading, as these approaches have consistently proven to be effective in fostering literacy skills among young learners,” said Griffin.

Potsdam school teachers are in the third year of a systematic phonics program for kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Griffin said the program has dedicated learning time for phonics instruction, providing a solid foundation for student reading skills.

PCS also implemented a comprehensive reading and writing program tied directly to the Next Generation Learning Standards. “This initiative is aligned with the governor’s vision, and I am confident it will enhance our students’ literacy development,” Griffin said.

Canton Central also adopted a “Structured-Literacy” program, Fundations, which is based on the Science of Reading, as a foundational component of reading instruction.

“Adequate financial support is crucial to ensuring educators have the resources to execute these evidence-based techniques successfully,” Superintendent Griffin.

Reid said most local school districts, like Ogdensburg, implement a balanced literacy approach through assessments and data, which is specific to each student's literacy needs.

“We believe it is positive, in that this attention will bring literacy to the forefront of people's minds; however, the title of the initiative is a bit misleading,” Reid said.  “We will not see a huge change in instruction as we have continued to teach phonics,   phonemic awareness, and other aspects of reading which were alluded to be missing from our current programming.”

Changes Leading to Improvement

As a result of these changes and more, Doyle says students are improving their reading fluency and comprehension. “Notably, the struggle to decode language, which had become all-too-common, has been dramatically reduced,” she said. Given our experience, teachers are pleased that there are efforts and support being provided for instruction based on the Science of Reading, with the caveat that careful thought must be given to how it is implemented.”

The improvements were noted in other districts as well.

“Over the past three years, we have been collaborating with Keys to Literacy consultants to enhance our literacy practices, using the science of reading as our guide,” said Colton-Pierrepont Central School District Superintendent Jim Nee. As a result, our teachers and students have experienced positive outcomes from the adjustments implemented and have found validation in strategies many teachers have been utilizing for years.”

“The ‘Science of Reading’ is a combination, of sorts, of the systems from the Reading Wars from back in the 90’s,” Cruikshank said. “As the pendulum swung away from phonics during the Reading Wars towards using solely contextual clues, the Science of Reading reconnoiters the pendulum back towards the middle.”

Cruikshank said feedback from teachers was positive.

Beyond Science of Reading, students are encouraged to read grade-level books, and students are offered support in reading to target their needs,” Cruikshank said.

Nee credited teachers for the gradual improvements in reading proficiency of students.

“We are dedicated to fostering reading proficiency throughout our entire organization and have observed gradual improvements over an extended period,” he said.

Griffin praised the efforts by his staff as well.

“I continue to be impressed with the efforts of our staff and look forward to witnessing the positive impact on our students’ literacy development,” he said.

In total, over 30 states have transitioned back to a “back-to-basics” teaching model to improve reading efficiency.

“The instructional time lost due to the pandemic, as well as truancy issues has had a profound impact on students,” Reid said

In addition, she said children are entering school with increasingly limited vocabulary and foundational skills.

“Considering these factors makes it difficult to assess an exact nexus for the general decline in literacy,” she said. “Focusing solely on schools would be a misstep in this initiative.”

She said parents and other family members are needed to improve student literacy.

“Parents and families can help,” she said.

Reid said the best thing parents can do for their children is to increase their exposure to literature, and develop their receptive vocabulary in their early years.

Additionally, assessing and treating potential learning deficiencies is vital, she said.

“The more students are read to, or with, and attend school, the more competent they will become with all academics,” Reid said.

As a result of these changes and more, school officials are hopeful students will begin seeing improvement in their reading fluency and comprehension.

"As neurological science on learning has developed, schools have reacted to the research on best practices,” Reid said. “Educators know so much more now in terms of brain science as the science of learning has expanded.”

Funding will be key in the implementation of new programs and the required training.

Gov. Hochul has signaled that she will seek a $10 million investment from the state to train 20,000 teachers in Science of Reading instructional best practices.

As part of the new plan, state leaders will also seek to expand SUNY and CUNY micro credentialing programs for teachers focused on the Science of Reading.

In total, over 30 states have transitioned back to a “back-to-basics” teaching model to improve reading efficiency.