Using Decodable Text For Reading Success
Our next WNY LIT event is on February 11 in Clarence, NY!
Join us at the Clarence Public Library for our next “WNY LIT: Literacy Instructors Together” event to discover how to leverage using decodable texts within structured literacy lessons! Teachers, learn to use your students’ profiles to carefully select the right text and maximize your lesson time by learning about decodable text routines. This workshop is geared towards teachers, but parents, librarians, and anyone looking to support reading success are welcome.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn more about the power of decodable text and how to use them within your classroom correctly to improve reading outcomes for students. Please register HERE.
Our Presenter
Stacey Pellicano is a Literacy Consultant & Specialist, and a member of the New York State Education Department Dyslexia & Dysgraphia Task Force, which just published their “Report & Recommendations.”
Recently, Stacey provided professional development on decodable texts to the three schools that implemented Buffalo Sabres Decodable Literacy Hubs in their school libraries as part of the WNY Literacy Initiative.
Stacey received her Bachelor of Science from Buffalo State College, a Masters in Childhood Education from the University of Buffalo with a concentration in Literacy, and an Advanced Certificate in School Building Leadership. Stacey consults with area school districts and organizations to improve literacy outcomes by providing instructional support and professional learning for teachers. She also volunteers to provide support for dyslexic children and their families as they navigate through the special education process.
Again, you can register HERE for this great event.
Event Recap: “Keeping Back-To-Basics Front & Center”
What an incredible gathering last week, as the WNY Education Alliance, along with We the Parents of WNY, co-hosted an event in Buffalo as part of the National Parents Union NYS Week of Action!
“Keeping Back-To-Basics Front & Center” was both in-person and live-streamed on Facebook from SUNY Erie Community College, as we welcomed special virtual guest Maria Fernandez, the Deputy Secretary of Education in the Governor's Office.
The speakers who joined us in-person included:
1. Dr. Ben Solomon, Professor at the School of Education at the University at Albany, SUNY, addressing what we need to know about the emerging #ScienceofMath.
Key take-aways:
Productive struggle is an indicator of poor skill mastery
Students who struggle LESS learn MORE
Timed practice is essential for math mastery
Students may better acquire math concepts if they have facts & algorithms down FIRST.
2. Stacey Pellicano (yes, the SAME Stacey Pellicano who is presenting on Feb. 11 at the Clarence Library!), Literacy Consultant & Specialist, and member of the New York State Education Department Dyslexia & Dysgraphia Task Force, speaking to the critical points in the Task Force’s recently published “Report & Recommendations.”
Key take-aways:
“NYSED should adopt updated definitions of dyslexia and dysgraphia that reflect the current understanding of dyslexia and dysgraphia as a brain-based learning difference”
Concern: schools lack “the capacity & trained staff to address the needs to students with specific learning disabilities”
Concern: NYS does not have “certification, re-certification, pre-service, or in-service requirements for candidates or teachers to have training specific to dyslexia and/or dysgraphia”
3. Dr. Tina Schultz, Professor at Niagara University, Former Niagara Falls City School Administrator, and Founder & CEO of Niagara Community Information Group, presenting on the civil rights of her community to receive evidence-based Tier 1 instruction and intervention.
Key take-aways:
Partner with everyone
Ask the uncomfortable questions
Persevere
Thanks also to Channel 7 for their coverage of this event! You can read/listen to the piece here.
“What Nobody Is Saying About the NAEP Reading Scores” from Natalie Wexler
With the dismal results released last week from the Nation’s Report Card, I appreciated Natalie Wexler’s take on it, which you can read in full on her substack here. The gist of the results is this: 4th grade math results were up a smidge, but “Reading scores dropped to a historic low for eighth graders, with 33 percent scoring below the lowest level, “basic.” Forty percent of fourth graders also fell into that category, the highest proportion in 20 years.”
Things to note:
The “decline was driven by the lowest-achieving students” - which means that the achievement gap widened even more
This is a test of comprehension, not decoding
“If we want to make real progress, especially with students who struggle the most, we need to stop patterning instruction after tests that artificially separate reading comprehension from content knowledge—and from writing. We need to recognize that these things are all connected.”
Here’s a look at reading achievement for 4th graders in New York State:
Also, did you know that Natalie Wexler has a new book coming out in a few weeks? It’s titled Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning and you can pre-order here or any other place where books are sold. I can’t wait to read it.
You’re Invited: “The NYS The Path Forward Action Plan” Webinar
What's next for the NY State Action Plan: The Path Forward?
You are invited to join our next informational webinar which will focus on the next stage of the NY State Action Plan: The Path Forward. There will be a presentation and time for follow up questions. Attached is the flier with further details and the registration link is below. Feel free to spread the word amongst your colleagues and any other interested folks.
Who: NYSED and LAC hosted by NYSATE/NYACTE
What: EPP Science of Reading Framework and Baseline Reflection Webinar
When: Tuesday, February 11th from 12:00-1:30 pm
Where: Register for the Webex HERE. *The link was not working previously, but fingers crossed you can now access it!
What We’re Reading
Congratulations to our #WNYLiteracyInitiative parter, Read To Succeed Buffalo, on being awarded $105,000 over three years to restart Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five! You can read about it and register here.
Study shows major gains in K-1 reading outcomes from use of the viral, and virtually free, UFLI foundational skills program! Read about it in EdWeek here.
“Don’t stop at smartphones. Can we limit all tech devices in the classroom?” - Laura Yuen, The Minnesota Star Tribune
Let’s consider whether the benefits of school-issued iPads and Chromebooks that have flooded classrooms are worth all the headaches.
Thanks, as always, for reading!
Tarja