River Forest School District 90 has felt pressure from parents to review its current reading curriculum amid national outcry related to its continued use of the widely accepted – yet controversial — curriculum Units of Study.
The move comes as some parents are demanding a complete overhaul of the way the district teaches reading.
During the Oct. 16 board of education meeting, parent Allison Jack addressed the school board, saying she was dismayed the district was still using the controversial Units of Study curriculum. Jack said her youngest child, a fifth grader, received an external evaluation, which revealed their biggest area of challenge was decoding. Jack was frustrated, saying she felt compelled to speak up as the issue was once again impacting her family.
“We are using a program that doesn’t use what science says helps kids to read,” Jack told the board, adding she does not understand why it wasn’t a “literate emergency.”
Her push comes amid a national pushback against Units of Study, a reading curriculum developed by Columbia University teaching professor Lucy Calkins, one that has been playing out for a few years. Calkins’ theory focuses on the idea that children are naturally curious and would use inquiry-based methods to learn to read, which also brought forward the idea that when children are struggling to learn, too much focus on phonics is detrimental to their progress.
According to reporting by the New York Times and other outlets, the Columbia University professor was able to successfully teach her curriculum to future educators from the Columbia University’s Teachers College, as well as have it adopted by the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school district in the country, educating more than 1 million children, in the early 2000’s. This turned Calkins’ curriculum into a booming business, producing two companies and providing training across the globe. Eventually, Units of Study became the primary way for teachers and graduate schools of education to teach children to read across the nation.
Since then, research has shown the method doesn’t work. The “science of reading,” or teaching children to read through phonics, a sequenced introduction to the sounds and letter combinations used in the English language, is once again gaining traction.
New research, which included the use of MRI’s showcasing the parts of the brain that would be activated when reading. as well as strong opposition from activist groups focused on equity — showing that low-income children were the most affected by the new curriculum — have raised questions on how well Units of Study actually works. According to reports, Calkins initially pushed back on the claims and critics but later changed her reading program.
Throughout the current discussion, D90 has maintained it has already been using a broad range of curriculum to help students learn to read.
“I think that how people hear about it in national media is different from how it has been implemented over the years in District 90,” said Board of Education President Stacey Williams. “Units of Study is just one part of how we provide reading instruction to our students.”
Stephanie Rath, director of communications and communication relations at D90, said the district uses phonics, phonemic awareness, word study/vocabulary and grammar, handwriting and reading techniques such as read aloud, book clubs, and independent reading time.
“That is the one thing that I think is sometimes misunderstood,” Williams said. “How does D90 implement reading, but because there has been new learning in the area of how students are learning how to read, new data that has been available to teachers. … we have moved up what we would have traditionally done in terms of where it would fall in a cycle. We are undergoing that process right now, which is a pretty comprehensive process.”
Supt. Edward Condon said he believes the issue has increased awareness as parents know that reading is the “mother skill” that helps children be successful and the dips seen in reading during the COVID-19 pandemic have moved literacy issues to the forefront.
“We are lucky here in River Forest that we have the level of community engagement, not just on this issue but on many issues, that makes us better,” he said. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to have dialogue with families, community members and staff who have opinions and in many cases expatriates that can help guide how we move forward.”
Amid the community’s push, D90 moved forward with its review of the reading curriculum, which was not due for another year or two, said Alison Hawley, assistant superintendent of instruction for District 90.
Behind the numbers
Research shows that one-third of children in the United States do not have basic reading skills.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 68% of 4th graders in the U.S scored below proficient in reading in 2022 and a Gallup analysis of data from the U.S Department of Education showed that 130 million adults in the country have low literacy skills.
But in D90, students are performing very well compared to the rest of the state as seen in the 2023 Illinois Report Card.
Hawley said the district is currently performing well and they are “very pleased” with the results from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness and in terms of growth, where any growth past 60% is considered excellent, the district was placed in the 79% percentile for growth.
When it comes to their individual performance, Hawley said the district has about 65% of students who are meeting or exceeding standards.
“It’s encouraging that we are in the top four percent of the state for literacy based on IAR however there is still work for us to do,” Hawley said. “So, we want to make sure we are serving all children well and part of receiving this data is to help us understand how we can do that.”
To help bridge gaps between reading performance in terms of equity, Condon said the district was committed to continuous review of their reading material to ensure students see themselves reflected in various ways including race, ethnicity, and family background amongst others.
“At the end of the day, our goal around equity in District 90 has been the same and that is that no individual characteristic will be a determinant of our student’s ability to achieve to their highest potential,” he said.
Earlier this year, board members Kristine Mackey, Eric Isenberg, and Joseph Cortese ran for and won seats on the board on the platform of reviewing the reading curriculum.
In a previous interview with Wednesday Journal, Mackey said she was personally exposed to the reading homework her three grandchildren were bringing home and felt there was a strong need to improve. Mackey was not able to be reached for additional comment. Isenberg and Cortese directed all questions to Rath.
The first step taken by the district was to form the D90 Literacy Committee, which has been up and running since September of this year. The rest of the process is not as easy as switching out textbooks, but rather lengthy and complex, officials said.
“In order to stop using a curriculum, if that is what you decided, then you have to make sure you have something ready to go in its place,” Williams said. “That takes time. You have to pick the best two you have and pilot them in the classroom.”
The committee is looking at research around the five different areas of foundational skills: phonics, fluency, comprehension, word study, and awareness. Hawley said all the research will be shared with the community after the findings are concluded, which should be around the end of December 2023.
“There is no one program or one approach that is going to universally work for all students to become proficient readers so it is important that we have a program that is flexible, that is responsive and that we have a resource that we can go to because not every resource works for every student,” Hawley said.
The Illinois State Board of Education also has been compiling a literacy framework for the state, which is due to be published no later than January 2024.
Williams said the way the district is undertaking this task is about as fast as it can be done, and if a new program is selected, it would not go into effect until early winter of 2025.
The district continues to promote its “multi-tier system of support,” which includes strong communication with teachers, as a way to help students who are struggling to read. That communication is vital, Condon said, as parents can provide more information to teachers about their child’s confidence in reading and demonstration of their skills, which can be vital.
D90 will be hosting a Literacy Instruction Forum on Tuesday, Dec. 5 in the multipurpose room at Roosevelt Middle School, Oak Avenue, at 7 p.m.