Back in March 2021, Brookfield school administrators started talking publicly about changing the way they teach reading in the elementary and middle schools, and plans to implement what is known as the science of reading. District officials credited teaching the science of reading with helping improve the early literacy score on the 2023 state report card.
The state legislature formalized the teaching philosophy earlier this year in requiring that all teachers and administrators be trained in the science of reading, and that an approved science of reading curriculum be implemented for grades kindergarten through five. The state said it wants “to ensure all teachers across the state have the training and skills to provide effective literacy instruction in the science of reading,” according to a state guidance document released by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in May.
Even though Brookfield has already been using the science of reading, the state mandate has foisted significant requirements on the district, said Kristen Foster, Brookfield director of teaching, learning and accountability.
The science of reading philosophy has five components: phonics and word recognition, phonological awareness, oral and text comprehension, vocabulary and fluency.
The state now requires training for all teachers and administrators in the science of reading, she said. While the training teachers in the lower grades received prior to the passage of the legislation might be credited by the state, officials have to document that training and submit it for review, she said.
“That’s taking quite a lot of time to determine who needs what,” Foster told the school board in April.
The state will pay teachers for the training in stipends of $400 or $1,200, but the district has to pay upfront and seek reimbursement, Foster said. The district’s teachers have been instructed as to how to submit requests for the stipends, which are issued through their paychecks, she said.
Administrators have to pay for their own training.
Because the teachers are getting paid for the training, they have to do it on their own time. In April, Foster was scrambling to get teachers as much information as she could so they could pursue the training over the summer, if they chose to. The training has to be completed by June 2025.
Another state mandate requires that school districts implement science of reading curriculum for the 2024-25 school year for grades kindergarten through five. The science of reading curriculum the district had been using is not certified by the state, she said. That sent school officials searching for an approved curriculum. They created a committee of teachers and administrators and, after considering several options, chose Amplify CKLA for grades kindergarten through five, a pay version of the free CKLA curriculum they already had been using, Foster said in a July 17 email update.
For grades six to eight, the district will use CommonLit, which is designed to help struggling readers, and the high school will “integrate some of CommonLit’s materials/resources,” Foster said.
“The principles of the science of reading, learned via the training, will guide our teacher’s instructional practices and materials selection at the middle and high school levels to ensure that all students benefit from evidence-based literacy instruction,” she said.
Foster stressed that she is not against the state mandate, especially as it requires teachers of all grades to know how students are taught to read, although she might have administered the rollout differently if she had more discretion.
“I think it’s important that, k(indergarten) to 12, we all know how kids are learning to read, and, that way, they can read to learn when they get to middle and high school,” she said.
School board member Melissa Sydlowski said she thought the mandate was “a lot” for the district to do over a summer and be ready to roll once students return.
“When it comes down to it, we have great teachers here,” Foster said. “No matter what curriculum we have, if they put forth their best effort, it’s gonna be successful.”
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