EDUCATION
AA call TO collective action onON PREK-TO-3 LITERACYDurham
CALL to COLLECTIVE ACTION preK-to-3 literacy in IN DURHAM
North Carolina in 2012 adopted the rigorous Common
Core standards for all public schools. When the State
Board of Education released the results of standardized
tests from that first year of Common Core, they revealed
a dramatic drop in performance by students, schools and
districts. The overall passing rate in Durham was 34%,
compared to 55.8% in Wake County and 50% in Orange
County. The overall statewide passing rate was 45%.
The new, statewide Read to Achieve law mandates certain
levels of reading proficiency by the end of third grade and
requires school districts to offer summer remediation for certain students not reading at that level. Hundreds of Durham
third-graders are expected to need that support this summer.
Amidst these challenges, and with the critical knowledge
that end-of-third-grade reading level is the most accurate
predictor of high school graduation, Durham Public Schools
in May hosted a Literacy Summit to begin mobilizing community stakeholders. Dr. Phail Wynn Jr., vice president for
Durham and regional affairs at Duke University, was the
keynote speaker at the event, and these are his remarks.
“I’m here to call for a community dialogue, and
for action on both an immediate challenge and a more difficult long-term one. This Literacy Summit is the beginning
of a long and sustained process during which all education
and community stakeholders will have to step up.
If we examine this challenge from a historical
perspective, we discover we have been talking about thirdgrade reading proficiency in Durham elementary schools for
more than 20 years. Many of you will remember this quote
from the late 1990s — “The main thing is to keep the main
thing, the main thing.” This quote from former DPS superintendent Ann Denlinger referred to the goal of having all
students reach reading proficiency by the end of third grade.
I even have here an op-ed piece I wrote in 2000
advocating support for that goal. DPS drafted a covenant
that was signed by dozens of stakeholders. However, no
sustainable action plan was developed. We continue to
face the challenge.
Allow me to take a few minutes to discuss my view
of the challenge and the consequences of not developing and
implementing a sustainable, research-based action plan. To
paraphrase singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell’s wonderful song,
“Both Sides Now,” I have seen the consequences of this preK-to-third-grade literacy issue from both ends now – as well
as from the middle. And it all points to the same conclusion
– this is a most serious and critical challenge, leading only to
disastrous consequences if coordinated and focused actions
are not taken to save these kids.
My first experience in understanding the conse-
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quences of poor reading proficiency occurred early in my
28-year tenure as president of Durham Technical Community College. Durham Tech provides open-door admissions but requires entering students to take placement tests
to determine their preparation
for college-level academic
work. Over the years, as
many as 40% of our entering
high-school graduates tested
below grade level in reading,
English and/or mathematics.
We carefully developed three
levels of Developmental Studies courses to prepare them Dr. Phail Wynn, Jr.
for college-level work. We understood that a student could not master any course or
subject at Durham Tech without appropriate grade-level
reading proficiency.
As a result, we faced many disappointed and
discouraged students. In their minds, their high school diploma meant they were prepared for college-level work.
It was a huge blow to learn they would have to spend up
to three semesters doing remedial work — at their own
expense — that would not count toward their major. This
was a harsh penalty for young people who had done everything expected of them. But, who was at fault? The
school system? Their parents? The community?
I developed another perspective on the importance
of early literacy development when I became vice president
for Durham and regional affairs at Duke University in 2008.
Jeannie Bishop, then principal of E.K. Powe Elementary
School, expressed to me her concern about the large number
of students entering kindergarten with little or no pre-school
experience. These students lacked the necessary kindergarten readiness behaviors and had not begun to develop the
requisite pre-reading skills. Recent studies show that in the
United States, one of every three children enter kindergarten
unprepared or underprepared to begin learning reading and
math. Just imagine their first educational experience during
their first day at kindergarten – a day filled with frustration and
lowered self-esteem. So, if these students are not ready for
kindergarten, who is at fault? We certainly can’t blame the
schools if students arrive unprepared.
My most recent perspective on understanding the
consequences of poor reading proficiency came when my
office piloted the Balfanz Early Warning Indicator Tracking
System (EWITS) at three DPS middle schools. This project
began in the fall of 2009 to identify those middle-school students most at risk of dropping out or otherwise getting off
track for graduation. The rationale for this cohort analysis
approach was that by identifying middle-school youth most
vulnerable to disconnection from school, resources could
more efficiently and effectively be deployed for those youth
identified as most likely to drop out.
We began the process by applying the “high-risk”
indicators developed by Professor Robert Balfanz of Johns
Hopkins University