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Karen Vaites Profile picture
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Apr 3 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
You all see me point to Tennessee and @TNedu as the leading state for literacy work.

This is why!

Tennessee’s educators say it best. Hear about the impact of the #Reading360 investments from @PennyTh00680704 & @LebanonSSD team:
What Tennessee did differently:

They paired very strong Early Reading Training for teachers with an initiative to get all districts using high-quality curriculum.

That whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Many states are training teachers on the science of reading. Other states encourage use of high-quality curriculum.

TN standa out for pairing the two so effectively, and really, it's principals, teachers, district leaders saying so. @PennyTh00680704

Tennessee also sent decodable readers home to families and took other steps to engage parents...

But after hearing from educators in two TN districts on my recent visits with the @ClassroomWonder School Tour, I'm convinced that the professional learning + curriculum pairing is magic.

Invest in your teachers AND give them good tools. Pretty simple, really.

HT @SchwinnTeach!
Don’t miss this part…

This free foundational skills supplement has earned praise in TN and beyond.

@TNedu really stepped up to make “doing the right thing the easy thing” in early literacy.

tn.gov/education/news…

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More from @karenvaites

Karen Vaites Profile picture
Apr 5
It’s rich seeing @NationalPTA cheering advocacy when they were silent on the exceptional school closures in the US, where kids lost more school than any other western nation.

Generally, they seem to advocate for everything *but* quality schooling for US kids.

Let’s discuss.
What did @NationalPTA have to say about US school closures?

Not a whole lot.

In October, 2020, as journalists like @anya1anya @laurameckler @AP @lesliebrody were writing pieces showing that schools could be reopened successfully, this was all they had to say about closures. Image
In February, 2021, when parents in the regions with protracted school closures, like CA, OR, WA, MD, MA, and IL were fighting to get schools reopened, the @NationalPTA had… a podcast with the leader of another organization. Image
Read 18 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
Apr 4
We have talked a lot about the role of 'parent journalism' in the pandemic, and @daniela127 just set the standard.
At 21:00, @NYCMayor answers @daniela127's question.

He points to an uptick in cases in NYC as the reason that NYC (and only NYC) is still masking toddlers.

How big is the uptick, you ask?

Wait for it...

@Fabien_Levy @SusanBEdelman
The uptick in cases is a 0.003% increase.

That's a lot of zeros behind that decimal point, @NYCMayor.

No reasonable person can believe that masking toddlers will impact that number.

Maybe @SusanBEdelman can make this a follow-up question.

Read 6 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
Apr 4
Paging @NYCMayor:

British children’s welfare orgs report major concerns RE young kids:

“delays in learning speech & language; problems w/ social interaction & confidence, such as not knowing how to take turns & struggling to make friends”

@Fabien_Levy
theguardian.com/society/2022/a…
Hurts to read.

And reminder that young children weren’t ever masked in the UK, so effects in cities like NYC, where both children and caregivers have both been masked since September ‘21, are likely worse. Image
Mirrors worrisome signals from this US study of babies born during the pandemic. Below ICYMI.

Notable to see these new red flags for toddler development out of the UK. @NYCMayor @Fabien_Levy @NYCMayorsOffice @NYCHealthCommr
Read 5 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
Apr 3
Dear @LDH_ed, yesterday I offered to introduce you to the high-quality curricula.

Now I think I need to welcome you to the Science of Reading conversation, too.

Do you not realize that @FountasPinnell & other programs you recommend are weak on phonics/PA?

cc: @TonyThurmond ImageImage
The alternative to Balanced Literacy is not curriculum in which children are “copying off the board.”

In fact, high-quality curriculum puts a premium on pair shares and even Socratic Seminars about rich texts!

I think you need to know about these curriculum options… Image
Most are new in the last 5 years.

I think you might be surprised by how effectively they deliver on virtues you name, @LDH_ed … while also aligning with evidence on foundational skills instruction.

A thread on one in @BaltCitySchools below. Search #CurriculumMatters for more.
Read 6 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
Mar 29
“Will you help me put this on? It’s my lucky necklace.”

My 10YO (who never talks like this)… because it’s state testing day.

Y’all, she didn’t get this pressure from her mother.
You can want the data from standardized testing, because we need a window into school performance on key metrics like literacy (which is troubling nationally)…

And still have ambivalence about the unintended consequences of assessments (because of adult behaviors around them).
This year marked a first for me:

At the parent-teacher concerned, my daughter’s teacher announced, “Our next English Language Arts unit is the test prep unit.”

I almost fell out of my chair.
Read 6 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
Mar 29
Reminder that good air quality in schools is strongly correlated with better academic performance.

Glad to see @j_g_allen @zeynep @linseymarr and others raising awareness:
ICYMI:
More info here:
Read 4 tweets

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