Share this page!

Karen Vaites Profile picture
Twitter logo
May 20 • 5 tweets • 5 min read
Todd Collins @careads calls out @TonyThurmond for a weak literacy plan:

“the typical patchwork of spending and programs – library cards, free e-books, grants for dual language programs” that have failed to improve troubling literacy rates in CA schools.

edsource.org/2022/a-compreh…
Todd describes the “elements of a comprehensive plan,” and notes number of states taking action on literacy. He puts a particular spotlight on Mississippi.

In fact, @TNedu comes closest to @careads’s elements of comprehensive plan. @natwexler detailed:

forbes.com/sites/nataliew…
I love Mississippi’s work in teacher training. BUT… MS has not taken action to get high-quality curriculum into schools.

Only @TNedu has done both: #Reading360 Early Reading Training and now Secondary Literacy Training, AND high-quality curriculum in most schls.

Cc: @careads
Otherwise, I am re-upping this thread, written for @TonyThurmond last month, RE curriculum.

It links to LOTS of state actions, food for thought for CA leaders… but TN #Reading360 is the strong model to follow for “comprehensive,” IMHO.
Happiness is seeing the biggest superintendent in California sharing @careads.

👏👏👏👏👏

@CAParentPower @DDCalifornia @KJWinEducation

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Karen Vaites

Karen Vaites Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @karenvaites

Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 19
New York Times’s @apoorva_nyc is reporting children’s deaths from MIS-C that are 58x higher than the CDC is reporting.

4,000 versus 68.

Why does this keep happening?!!

nytimes.com/2022/05/19/hea…
They just fixed it. 4,000 diagnoses, not deaths.

👉 How out of touch do you need to be with actual child mortality from COVID to make this error??

I am not paid to report on COVID, yet I gasped when I saw 4,000 deaths, it is such a glaring error, clear to anyone paying attn.
.@ZacBissonnette has a really good point.

It’s shady to make this correction without an editor’s note.

@katie_robertson @cliffordlevy @DLeonhardt
Read 7 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 19
Children not reading on grade level should never become normal.

From a retired superintendent:
Your daily reminder that only a third of US students are proficient in reading in 4th grade.

Worse yet, the figure doesn’t improve by 8th grade.

In this same period, US graduation rates have dramatically improved.

Schools just pass on & graduate kids that read poorly.
This is actually a prescient tweet about one of the biggest roots of the issue:

Mostly, there is a pervasive misunderstanding about how kids learn to read, and the best tactics for accelerating literacy rates.

People don’t know what they don’t know. Big barrier to change.
Read 5 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 18
Signs of momentum for high-quality curriculum, which is tailor-built to align with reading research…

1. In Reading, MA

Notice learning journey detailed in this thread by @WiseForReading1.

Leaders in a district need to come up learning curve on how kids learn to read.
2. In Gwinnett County, outside Atlanta, GA:

Note the role of district leadership in leading this change. Also, the significant investment in teacher professional learning alongside the materials.

HT @SuptCalvinWatts @TNakiaT.
Reminder that the majority of districts contribute to use curriculum that does not align with research on how kids learn to read.

In MA, the market share of the bottom two curricula in the country (and knockoffs) is somewhere between 40% and 65%.

Thread:
Read 6 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 13
Today, you will see literacy voices across the country, including mine, cheering the news that NYC is going to mandate systematic phonics in every classroom.

What to watch:

Will those voices mention that NYC may still leave flawed, inequitable curriculum in place alongside?
For example, @NYCMayor @DanWeisbergNYC haven’t actually said that @TeachersCollege Reading Workshop is out next year. They have said that a phonics program is in.

Could this play out as a phonics patch?
Your daily reminder:

The biggest risk of a phonics patch comes of literacy advocates act like the work is done because one of the key pillars of literacy is addressed.

We still have 2 to go, y’all:
Read 9 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 13
Live from New York…

@DOEChancellor @NYCSchools acknowledges that many if not most schools are teaching reading poorly.

Announces a “seismic” shift toward better curriculum, starting w/ phonics.

Great coverage from @yoavgonen @the_zim @AGZimmerman:

thecity.nyc/education/2022…
The key part:

The city believes ~200 of its 700 schools lack phonics instruction, a key component in learning to read.

“Hundreds more” could be teaching it poorly.

This is a common issue in K-12; kudos to @DOEChancellor @NYCMayor for naming it so openly & tackling head on.
I don’t know all these programs, but I’m concerned that none is part of a high-quality curriculum.

Schools need comprehensive curriculum, not just a “phonics patch.”

👉 Reminder: Phonics is NOT the only shortcoming in NYC’s primary curriculum: eduvaites.org/2020/01/25/und…
Read 5 tweets
Karen Vaites Profile picture
May 12
Oh My God.

I knew the situation in Minneapolis Public Schools was bad… but this is a five alarm fire.

Really must be read, esp because these themes are present in other urban systems.

By @beth_hawkins:

the74million.org/article/minnea…
I’m once again struck by the dichotomy between @nytimes coverage of Minneapolis PS & @The74 coverage.

Very little of the raging dumpster fire in @beth_hawkins’s piece made @smervosh’s window into the district.

You could be reading about 2 different cities.

@alexanderrusso
Anyway, I’m tempted to share highlights (broke district, avoidance of budget issues, horrifying academic outcomes, plunging enrollment, union smear/misinfo campaigns and infighting, leadership vacuum & leaders jumping ship…)

But you just have to read it. I can’t do it justice.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(