With Minnesota State Legislature passage of the READ Act, school districts were required to adopt a new reading curriculum, the goal being to have all students kindergarten or above at or above reading level every year.
The new legislation was based on research called The Science of Reading that holds that learning to read is not a natural process but must be taught.
The new instruction must be “evidence based” based on fine principles of literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, oral language, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The curriculum purchased by districts has to meet those requirements.
The READ Act also requires staff training on evidence-based reading instruction and hire a literacy lead. Under the act, all students in grades K-3 will be screened at the beginning and end of the school year for reading mastery and dyslexia.
The legislature appropriated $75 million for districts to implement the READ Act, $35 million for purchasing new curriculum and materials and $34.95 million for professional development costs for staff.
The Hastings School District has been working toward implementation of a new reading curriculum for over a year. On Wednesday, March 20 at its regular meeting, the ISD #200 Board of Education approved a new curriculum – with the caveat that reading materials are age appropriate.
The Hastings effort was spearheaded by Andy Larson, an elementary teacher on special assignment to the district’s Teaching and Learning team. Larson, building leaders and teachers went through and approved curriculum from the Minnesota Department of Education, which districts must use to get state help paying for the program.
“We’ve been going through this process for a year and a half,” said Larson. “Over that time, the teachers in our district have dedicated innumerable hours to being able to make this decision. They have put in time outside of school to be able to review the materials. They have gone through an entire process of looking through a variety of resources.”
It came down to two curriculum sources, and 89 percent of staff felt “they could implement effective lessons” with a curriculum series called Wit and Wisdom.
“A large amount of that recommendation comes from teachers diving into the materials themselves and being able to look at all the aspects of teaching when it comes to it. It would be the planning side of it. It would be the actual core content. It would be the way we engage students in those lessons. I think the engagement piece was something that we spent a lot of time looking at, because we know students who are engaged and activating their minds are learning better and are also better able to be a part of a classroom community in an effective way,” said Larson.
Larson said there has been concern expressed from some staff about the “rigor” students are put through with the curriculum.
“I’m just going to make this comment: We should not be afraid of rigor, because rigor is challenge,” said Director Mark Zuzek. “When we have some teachers that are saying that our students aren’t quite ready for it, by golly two years from now, when they get the fourth graders that went through a good solid curriculum, from second and third grade, they will be ready for it. We cannot improve our reading scores without improving our rigor. I understand that as a lifelong teacher and an educator myself, you think ‘Gosh, can my kids really handle it?’ We have to always presume that they can handle it, and they’re ready to go. And that leveling up of rigor is so critical.”
The board approval with modifications relates to some of the reading content within the curriculum. Some board members noted there were some “dark” themes to some of the reading that they didn’t believe appropriate for lower elementary students.
“Concerns have been brought to the school board about the inclusion of certain books in the curriculums. Concerns about material presented to kids is always important to consider, so I will take you through our review process that we use for all of our curriculum,” Larson said. “Before we use a resource to teach, we preview it. Intentionally and methodically, we go through the books we are reading, the work we are asking students to do and the standards that the resource covers.”
He said that resources are studied before deciding if they are “age appropriate.”
“If a book or lesson is not appropriate, we modify it or replace it with a different one,” he said. “This is what good teachers do. This is what our teachers do. They know that a new resource will inevitably mean more work, but it’s work that must be done, regardless of the resource.”
When asked how long until the curriculum will be reviewed for change, Superintendent Dr. Tamara Champa said it likely would be 10 years.
Zuzek said that regardless of the program chosen, there likely would be pushback on some materials.
“Is there a way Mr. Larson that we can say yes to this and take a careful slow look at what we’re doing?” Zuzek asked, suggesting that materials some deem inappropriate be reviewed, as there are plenty of materials all will feel are appropriate.
Larson suggested that with the board’s decision, a group of teachers could come together over the summer to review materials at each grade level.
“That makes absolute sense to me,” he said. Larson also urged people to actually read the books and not just what’s said on social media.
Board Chair Carrie Tate agreed that in reviewing curricula, “hands down, Wit and Wisdom seemed like the better choice. I’m no expert for sure, but it just seemed like a much better structure, much easier to execute.”
In researching material, though, she agreed it definitely must be reviewed.
“There’s a lot of very, I’ll say dark subjects,” she said. “You have this darkness combined with the fact of the structure is that the students read the book and then they spent weeks and weeks on that book. A bigger concern for me was if we do have books that the parents find objectionable, and they have the right to opt their student out. If a parent were to choose to do that, their student would miss out on weeks of instruction, which would obviously put them behind. In my head, I’m thinking, ‘Why does teaching kids how to read have to be so controversial?’ Can’t we find books that every single family is comfortable with?”
Director Matt Bruns cautioned the board against micromanaging the staff.
“That is not our role, and I feel like we’re losing the trust and not honoring the work that your crew has dedicated to this,” he said.
Director Philip Biermaier responded, “I don’t think we’re micromanaging. I just don’t think we’re here to rubber stamp. There’s a difference there. Families should have the ability to be a part of this too,” he said.
Champa said the board had the option to “approve Wit and Wisdom with modifications that can be accomplished.”
The entire discussion spanned more than an hour with a seven-minute recess worked in, but in the end the board voted unanimously to use Wit and Wisdom and “take a cautious step between adoption and implementation, make sure the texts that are adopted are appropriate,” in Zuzek’s words.
Tate commended Larson and the district team that worked on putting together the recommendation.
“I think the process that has been followed to go through this has just been phenomenal, just tons of work and done right, which I absolutely appreciate,” she said.
