Solving the Reading Crisis in Our Schools

We believe all children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.

This statement by The Reading League, a highly respected literacy organization, has been widely quoted by literacy leaders across the nation. And right here in Santa Barbara, it is embraced and endorsed by the Santa Barbara Reading Coalition. This coalition is made up of a group of concerned citizens seeking to address the issue of low literacy that affects many communities across America — including our own. 

For two years we have extensively studied and learned a good deal about literacy by meeting with educators, consultants and literacy leaders across the nation. We are pleased to share our knowledge — and invite you to join us in support of making big strides in developing informed literacy leadership in Santa Barbara.

The Concerning Issues

Reading Struggles — According to the California Reading Coalition: “Over half (58% – up from 51%!) of California students read below grade level in 3rd grade. Most never catch up.” This is not a situation that can be blamed on Covid-19; literacy rates have remained stagnant for years. Science confirms that approximately half the student population will remain functionally illiterate without science-based reading instruction. 

Reading Instruction — A major reason for the low literacy rates of our children has been the use of the “Balanced Literacy” instructional materials in schools districts, across the country, including our own. This once-widely accepted theory has now been thoroughly debunked by hundreds of controlled studies in the body of research now known as “The Science of Reading.” 

The science of reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing. It is derived from researchers from multiple fields that include cognitive psychology, neuroscience, school psychology, linguistics, education, developmental psychology and implementation and communication sciences. 

As detailed in the National Institutes of Health Reading Panel report: 

Literacy and Equity – Proficiency in reading, writing, and spelling is the very basis of a decent education, and according to UNESCO, “a fundamental human right.” Without these skills, students cannot master mathematics or high-level assignments and will continue to struggle until they receive proper remediation — or don’t. Those that can read will be able to have the opportunity to reach their full potential — those who can’t, simply won’t. This is the promise of public school, and success in reading instruction must do better than a coin toss. 

Steps to Success

1. Curriculum Adoption — Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) has been paying attention, and a year ago adopted a new reading instructional approach based on the Science of Reading. It’s a good first step. But mastery of a completely different approach to classroom instruction is far more than simply the adoption of a new curriculum. It’s a paradigm shift in recognizing how cognitive research must inform classroom practices. Rigorous implementation of this research-based approach is a huge ask of our teachers, on whom great expectations are heaped. 

Our universities and teaching colleges bear much of the responsibility, because in general, they have not taught teacher candidates the skills necessary to fully teach, assess and remediate the more than fifty percent of readers who simply must be taught foundational reading skills. The National Center for Improving Literacy (https://improvingliteracy.org) lists the five pillars of reading as the following: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. 

Teachers cannot teach what they have not been taught and did not learn, through no fault of their own. 

Consequently, the burden falls on school districts, and on teachers and principals to fill in gaps in their knowledge so that they can effectively address the needs of their students. This is no easy task. As respected reading researcher Dr. Louisa Moats wrote in the American Federation of Teachers magazine, “Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science.”

2. Literacy Leadership for Effective Implementation — Implementation of a rigorous science-based reading program remains a critical issue. There have been many districts that have adopted a good curriculum but failed to implement it properly due to lack of training. Districts and educators who have been successful in making the transition from balanced literacy to the Science of Reading emphasized that these efforts should be led by a single, highly trained and experienced individual who leads, provides expert guidance, and is accountable for the implementation of this demanding approach to teaching literacy.

It is noteworthy that the Santa Barbara County Education Office under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Susan Salcido, supporting 20 school districts and 10 charter schools serving 70,000 children and youth countywide, has embraced the Science of Reading.

3. Teacher Training and Resources — In addition to a Literacy Leader at the district level, alignment in literacy goals is essential at every level, including administrators, principals, support staff, and of course, classroom teachers. This requires intensive training in the Science of Reading that most in the education community never received in their college years. This professional development is an essential for educators who must be provided with time, training and experienced support in this systematic undertaking. 

The focus on literacy at Peabody Charter School, for example, offers a fine example of how a thoughtful roll-out of intensive training can change a school culture and greatly improve literacy outcomes. The school’s leadership made the decision to train a small group of educators in the gold standard program known as LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) and expanded it over time to a larger group of teachers who wanted to make the commitment to take the demanding course. The effort has paid off; at 66 percent proficiency, the school has the highest reading scores in the district. 

4. Prioritizing Literacy by the School Board and Superintendent — Literacy must be a top priority for every school board member and the superintendent to make significant progress in reading. Currently, we do not believe that is the case here in Santa Barbara. While some science-based materials have been adopted, there is much we do not know about the district’s literacy efforts. 

A comparison to the Palo Alto School District, which has made strong gains in reading achievement, as outlined in EdSource underscores this point. The Palo Alto School District, with its Every Student Reads initiative (ESRI), offers a blueprint for literacy success with underserved groups such as English Language Learners. 

As Palo Alto School Board Member Todd Collins noted, “The school board has established multi-year improvement goals for third-grade student achievement, specifically focused on lower-performing student groups, to be included in the superintendent’s annual review.” He added, “Equally important was our superintendent’s outspoken personal leadership on the issue. He constantly talked about the initiative with parents, teachers and his own leadership team. His community messages included frequent updates throughout the year. And our school board was given formal updates three times a year, including a detailed readout of annual results versus goals. There was no doubt: Every Student Reads was a big deal for Palo Alto Unified.”

With three board seats open in the upcoming Santa Barbara Unified School District election, this is a timely opportunity for this community to elect trustees who are committed to the successful implementation of research-proven literacy instruction. And this should not just be a campaign promise, but as a guiding principle of the job as a trustee. We look forward to the upcoming election to help reset policy with a commitment to literacy as a top priority. 

A Call to Action

When adults — parents, educators, concerned community members — comprehend the magnitude of this issue, and understand what it takes to solve it, we can fulfill our educational promise to our children and make sure we uphold their right to read. 

We invite you to join us. Please visit our Santa Barbara Reading Coalition website to learn more: www.SBReads.org 

Santa Barbara Reading Coalition Leadership:
Jim Armstrong – Retired Santa Barbara City Administrator
Miguel Avila – Founder Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, board memberships Dr John Coie – Retired Duke University Psychology Professor, former NIMH Consultant
Steve Epstein – Founder and CEO Epstein Partners, multiple local non-profit board member Ruth Green – Former CA State Board of Ed President, SBUSD Board of Ed member and Early Literacy Task Force
Patty Marks – Certified Teacher of Structured Literacy (Orton-Gillingham)
Cheri Rae – Dyslexia Project Director, former SBUSD Consultant, Author
Andrew Salzman – Retired CMO Oracle/HP/Compaq; current UCSB/Bronco Accelerator mentor Arthur Spiegel – Former Healthcare CEO; March of Dimes NY Chapter President
George Writer – Retired Writer Corporation Founder/CEO