Op-Ed: Recovery requires commitment to literacy for all students

Some of the best teaching outside of the classroom happens on a trip to the grocery store.

Reading labels. Checking items off a list. Introducing new foods and, in the process, new words, too.

Imagine a little boy and his dad shopping together.

“What is the next item on the list?” Dad asks.

“Eggs,” the young boy replies.

“What is this?” the boy asks, pointing to the produce section.

“That is an artichoke,” Dad says as he points to the letters on the sign. “Ar-ti-choke.”

While this example may seem simple, instructional moments such as these in fact matter significantly: They help activate the brain processing, build language and speech connections, and prepare children to be strong readers. Giving children these critical literacy experiences as early and often as possible equips them to achieve autonomy and pursue their aspirations. In short, literacy is life-changing.

Low literacy rates are linked to poorer mental and physical health and restrict potential professional opportunities and future earnings. As the state superintendent of education and a State Board of Education representative, we are both working hard to ensure that does not happen here in DC.

At a time when disagreements abound, we can all agree that literacy skills are paramount to the future success of our children, our city and our country.

Results of our statewide assessments and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tell us that much work must be done to ensure our children are not fighting the impacts of pandemic-induced interrupted learning for the rest of their academic careers.

The good news - and yes, there is good news- is that the solutions are within reach.

First, we must admit to ourselves, our students and our educators that reading instruction must not be one-size-fits-all and that there is no quick or easy fix.

However, there are evidence-based best practices that, when well-implemented with sufficient resources, are proven to be highly effective in advancing literacy. Under Mayor Muriel Bowser’s leadership, we are leveraging more than $40 million in federal funding to help 10,000 students over the course of three years access high-impact tutoring, and we are on track to make that happen. We are providing literacy training to educators across the District to deepen their understanding of the science of reading and bolster their capacity to teach all students how to read. Meanwhile, we are also supporting the adoption and implementation of high-quality instructional materials by offering more than $1.4 million in grants to local education agencies. To be most effective, those instructional materials must reflect the identities and experiences of all our children, and we are working to ensure that happens. Cumulatively, these actions will help ensure all students have access to essential literacy skills and to enriching and interesting reading materials that help them develop as readers.

Second, as a community, we must commit wholeheartedly to starting this work earlier in a child’s life. Early language and literacy skills lay the foundation for every child’s education. This is why it’s so important that families, caregivers and early educators understand how children learn to read. As we all work together to advance literacy in the District, there are things we can do each day that make an impact. Reading every night with a child - or finding quiet time for everyone to sit with a book - demonstrates and begins to instill a love of reading. Finding the joys in literacy can be as simple as reading the posters on a bus or train, the signs at an intersection, or labels at the grocery store.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that literacy learning happens across the city. We must all be stewards of this work to advance reading skills and, therefore, students’ lives.

If we are to succeed, we must approach this work together. Initial steps to implement the DC Statewide Comprehensive Literacy Plan - released by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) earlier this year, along with accompanying training and grants - provide evidence of the District’s commitment to incorporating an inclusive approach to literacy that ensures all students become successful readers. We are also excited to launch the collaborative Literacy Education Task Force, which will include representatives appointed by DC Public Schools, the DC Public Charter School Board, the State Board of Education, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, the DC Council and OSSE. This task force will meet regularly over the next six months to develop and submit in July 2023 an early literacy education report to the DC Council and Mayor Bowser that describes concrete steps and recommendations to advance early literacy in the District over the next four years.

The moment is urgent, as shown by assessment results for students in the District and across the nation. A strong recovery for our children requires that we use this moment as a catalyst for action and work collectively to ensure that all learners have consistent access to high-quality literacy instruction and early literacy experiences.

Read our op-ed via The DC Line

Dr. Christina Grant is the District’s state superintendent of education, and Allister Chang represents Ward 2 on the DC State Board of Education.