OP-ED: The gift that keeps on giving
I watched Lydia’s face as she pinched her nose to see what happened when she said the letters “m” and “n.” She and my other second-graders couldn’t produce the two sounds, and her expression spoke volumes: Her nose was vital for her to read.
The Pennsylvania Pilot Dyslexia Screening and Early Literacy Intervention Grant my school received 10 years ago was the greatest gift I’ve ever received as a teacher because it opened my world to the science of reading so I could truly support novice readers just like I did with Lydia. Educators need more than a manual to teach their students how to read: They need tools and resources to teach the five pillars – phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, phonemic awareness, and fluency. With training about how children learn these foundational skills, teachers unwrap for their students the gift of literacy.
Fifty-five percent of Pennsylvania third-graders are proficient readers, with research showing that 95% of all students can learn to read with evidence-based instruction. The PA General Assembly has introduced bipartisan legislation requiring schools to adopt an evidence-based reading curriculum, require teacher training, and early screening, to guarantee every student is a proficient reader by the end of third grade, a gift that will serve them for a lifetime.
This legislation, alongside SB801, which passed with unanimous support and was signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro last October, represents solid progress. However, it is not enough. Our legislators must invest $100 million in next year’s state budget to support the science of reading. First, our Legislature should prioritize some of the funding for books and resources educators need to teach literacy using research-based practices. When my school was awarded grant money for reading instruction, I received decodable books that matched the phonics skills I was teaching each week and the training to use them effectively in my instruction. As my students held their books, for example, they read the sentence: “The star is bright in the night sky” to me. Then, thanks to the things I learned about phonics, they could tell that in the word “star,” the “ar” makes a special sound because the letter “r” is bossy and changes how the “a” sounds.
Lydia knows her lips should be together as she makes the sound of “m” in “man” because I learned how sounds are articulated. As I am a lifelong learner, I remember my dad telling me as I began my master’s degree that no one can take away my education. The investment in teacher training will keep on giving over the course of my teaching career as I help shape the productive lives of the students I teach to read.
Then, the Legislature should invest some of the money in reading screeners for students. When you pick out a gift for someone, you ensure it doesn’t have any flaws or broken parts. It’s the same when teachers give the gift of reading over time to their students. We must monitor and improve upon their ongoing literacy success. Screeners give the schools an opportunity to prevent reading failure. Data from the screeners allow me to see the strengths and weaknesses of my students’ literacy progress. When I analyzed Lydia’s data, I saw a need for a teachable moment with her on how to not confuse those nasal sounds as she independently read.
Lastly, some of the $100 million should be used to hire more school literacy coaches. The state can ensure every school has a literacy coach by designating assigned experts in the science of reading to every county. When my school’s literacy grant coach gave me feedback, I knew my learning on the science of reading was sinking into my daily lessons. She helped me reflect on the importance of teachable moments like the ones in which Lydia realized how essential her nose and lips are in making the sounds “m” and “n.” Literacy coaches are like the jewelry store sales consultants who help you pick out the perfect diamond for a gift, guiding educators to individualized literacy lessons that address the needs of each student.
Once Lydia saw the wonder in the sounds she could make as she read, she hung on every word I used to help her to be able to pick up a book of her choice and experience the joy of reading. The Pennsylvania General Assembly must prioritize $100 million in funding to support teacher training, early screeners, and literacy coaches to give each child a gift that keeps on giving. Let’s give the gift of reading so that every Pennsylvania student has the tools for lifelong prosperity.
Alicia Young is a second-grade teacher at Bentworth Elementary in Bentleyville and a 2024-25 Teach Plus Pennsylvania Policy Fellow.