District level advocacy results in change

District level advocacy results in change:
Lessons from San Francisco Unified School District

Years of advocating for improvements to San Francisco Unified School District’s literacy plan are finally paying off. What started as a few people speaking up at occasional board meetings has grown to an energized movement that has won the attention of district leadership, the school board, local community, and the media. 

San Francisco USD has been a balanced literacy district for many years. Some of the most well known balanced literacy programs include Lucy Calkins Units of Study, Fountas & Pinnell Classroom, Fountas & Pinnell LLI, and Reading Recovery. You will find all of these programs in SFUSD schools. Balanced literacy materials and methods do not work for a large percentage of kids, and are especially inappropriate, even harmful, to those with dyslexia, yet SFUSD has stood by this model for many years, until now. As a result of growing advocacy, the district may be on the cusp of change.

What lessons can we learn from San Francisco, to help build a movement in other districts:

1. Build a coalition
The San Francisco Dyslexia Parent Support Group served as a critical space for parents to meet, learn from one another, and join forces. At their monthly virtual meetings, parents helped one another understand their children’s needs and how to get them help. Fed up with what they had to go through, many parents then turned their energy towards improving the system so others won’t experience the same heartache and expense. 

Teachers who understand the problem also joined the movement. As a result of a wave of recent media attention and exploding facebook groups on the topic, many educators have realized they weren’t sufficiently prepared to teach kids to read.  Teachers are learning the district-provided materials and the assessment and intervention practices they are told to follow are ineffective. Not all teachers feel safe raising criticisms of their employer, which is why the voices of those who choose to speak out are so important. 

A variety of other professionals, including psychologists, a pediatrician, and leaders from business and the public sector, added diverse perspectives on the problem. The literacy coalition also connected with other parent and community groups, which helped to amplify their message.

2. Expose the problem
Having the statistics on student performance in your district is critical. You need to know where the gaps are because the general district data often does not reveal which students’ needs are not being met. Two helpful resources are here and here.

In the case of San Francisco, the student achievement data showed a catastrophic problem. But, it was the findings of a K-5 curriculum audit, which elevated the conversation. All of a sudden, the typical excuses weren’t acceptable, as the findings of the audit pointed to a new why behind low reading performance: majorly deficient curriculum and methods of instruction. 

3. Get involved
In San Francisco, members of the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education have advocated for screening for risk of dyslexia and structured literacy for years.

Every district has stakeholder groups, such as CACs, LCAP Advisory Committees, School Site Councils and parent groups such as PTAs. These bodies offer important platforms for advocacy. When people advocate from across diverse committees and associations, leadership listens.

Connect with one of the eighteen Decoding Dyslexia CA parent support groups. If there is not a group in your community, we’ll help you get one started. You can email us at info@decodingdyslexiaca.org.

4. Spread the message
In just this past school year, members of the San Francisco coalition wrote op-eds, hosted inspiring talks and informational events, and brave teachers fed up with SFUSD’s practices were even radio show guests. Love it or hate it, social media is also important in growing a movement, and advocates got vocal there too.

So, the work is not near over yet, but the real conversation has begun. San Francisco advocates await the second wave of curriculum audit findings, expected in September, and from there they hope the district will develop a literacy plan based in the science of reading that San Francisco students deserve.

CA State PTA Adopts Statewide Dyslexia Resolution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CA State PTA Adopts Statewide Dyslexia Resolution

San Diego, CA, [May 7, 2016] – The California State PTA voted UNANIMOUSLY in favor of adopting a statewide resolution entitled “Dyslexia:  Addressing the Educational Implications in Public Schools” submitted by San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs with help from Decoding Dyslexia CA (DDCA).

The resolution recognizes that dyslexia has significant educational implications that need to be better addressed by public schools including the necessity of:

  • Teacher training in dyslexia and its warning signs and training in appropriate evidence-based Structured Literacy Instruction (in accordance with the International Dyslexia Association’s Knowledge & Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading);
  • Early screening for symptoms of dyslexia in kindergarten through the third grade, with parental notification; and
  • To promote knowledge of appropriate accommodations for dyslexic students.

The California State PTA dyslexia resolution will be submitted for consideration to the National PTA for presentation at its National convention in June 2017.

“Dyslexia has been long overlooked in our public schools and this resolution provides clear direction for action. Every California child with dyslexia deserves the right to read, spell, and work to his or her full potential,” states Marilyn Lucey, President of San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs. “The passing of this resolution is a door of opportunity opening for more children in California, not just children with dyslexia, but children with other outlying learning needs.”

“The California State PTA’s resolution on dyslexia serves as a model for other states. We are grateful not only for CA PTA’s support on this important issue but also for the hard work and dedication of San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs in drafting this resolution and in advocating for dyslexia,” states Tobie Meyer, DDCA State Director. “It has been a pleasure collaborating together on this important initiative.”

A copy of the adopted resolution can be accessed at:

http://downloads.capta.org/con/Business_ResolutionA.pdf.

Dyslexia is the single largest learning disability. It is estimated that up to 20% of the overall population displays some signs or symptoms of dyslexia, a language-based learning disability. In California alone, this means over 1 million of our public school students are at risk of being dyslexic. Without proper identification and appropriate reading remediation, most dyslexic children will never read at grade level. According to the 2015 Nation’s Report Card, 72% of all 4th grade students in California read below grade level.

ABOUT PTA: PTA is the oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy association in the United States. One of the purposes of the PTA is to secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth. PTA’s advocacy efforts must have authorities which come from its membership Resolutions give the PTA authority to take a position on issues as wide ranging as school-finance topics, health and safety issues, community concerns and more. Resolutions start as issues and ideas of concern to members in units, councils, districts or the California State PTA Board of Managers. These issues are carefully researched, and resolutions are created for consideration and adoption by convention delegates at the California State PTAs annual meeting. Once adopted, resolutions serve as a basis for action in unit, council, district PTA and California State PTA, including taking support positions on future legislation. For more information contact: Rachel Hurd, rmshurd@sbcglobal.net, visit our website at https://srvcpta-ca.schoolloop.com/, or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/srvcpta/.

ABOUT DDCA: Decoding Dyslexia CA is a grassroots movement driven by California families, educators and dyslexia experts concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities within our public schools.  We aim to raise dyslexia awareness, empower families to support their children, and inform policymakers on best practices to identify, remediate, and support students with dyslexia in CA public schools. For more information contact: Tobie Meyer, DDCA State Director at tobie_ddca@yahoo.com , visit our website at www.decodingdyslexiaca.org, or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DecodingDyslexiaCA/

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