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 THE PLEDGE 

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THE QUESTIONS
  • Do you agree that reading is a civil rights issue? With science proving that 95% of all children can learn to read at grade level if given the proper evidence-based structured literacy instruction, while disproportionate outcomes based on race and socio-economic background continue to feed the school to prison pipeline, will you commit to ensuring that all students receive this proven early literacy skills-based instruction?

 

  • Will you implement universal dyslexia screening for all students in K-2nd grade? And do you believe that all students should receive at least a similar level of care to those entering the federal prison system, including dyslexia screening and evidence based instructional support? (First Step Act)   

 

  • Will you require structured literacy curricula? Are you in favor of policy which requires use of an evidence-based reading/writing curriculum that is designed to teach the largest number of students to read and write in core instruction (Tier 1) in all K-12 schools?

 

  • Will you hire a chancellor who believes in structured literacy and dyslexia screening? Will you commit to prioritizing, recruiting, hiring and training educators who believe in and practice structured literacy and evidence based curriculum?

 

  • Will you commit to funding the full sequence of professional development in evidence-based structured literacy for K-5 teachers, including special ed, gen ed, and paraprofessionals, both training and retraining?

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  • Will you commit to ending the use of and/or phasing out any curricula which don’t align directly with evidence and scientific consensus, including all contracts with publishing companies pushing popular but not evidenced-based balanced literacy curricula (i.e. Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study, Teachers College Readers and Writers Program, Fountas & Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention and other non-science based literacy programs) and actively discourage their use in all NYC public schools?

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT READING INSTRUCTION

95%

OF ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN TO READ ON GRADE LEVEL IF GIVEN PROPER INSTRUCTION

65%

OF CHILDREN REQUIRE STRUCTURED LITERACY TO BECOME SKILLED READERS

60-80%

OF INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS ON RIKERS ISLAND AGED 19-20 HAVE READING AND WRITING DISABILITIES

“The Body of work referred to as the “Science of reading” is not an ideology, a philosophy, a political agenda, a one size fits all approach, a program of instruction, nor a specific component of instruction. It is the emerging consensus from many related disciplines, based on literally thousands of studies, supported by hundreds of millions of research dollars, conducted across the world in many languages. These studies have revealed a great deal about how we learn to read, what goes wrong when children don’t learn, and what kind of instruction is most likely to work best for the most students.”
Dr. Louisa Moats Ed.D. 

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