RELEASE: Op-Ed: A Home for Literacy

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:

Nate Williams

505-699-9791

nathan.williams@ped.nm.gov

Feb.8, 2024

A Home for Literacy

An Op-Ed by Dr. David Hurford, University Professor/Executive Director for The Center for READing

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, New Mexico ranks last in fourth- and eighth-grade reading levels. Low literacy is associated with increased rates of incarceration, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and suicide. The good news? Research suggests that about 95% of children can learn to read through comprehensive, explicit, and systematic instruction provided by well-prepared teachers.

This year, the Legislature has the opportunity to invest some of the state’s record oil and gas revenues in New Mexico’s most valuable commodity: our children. Governor Lujan Grisham has asked the Legislature to invest $30 million in building a permanent home for best practices in reading instruction. I cannot think of an investment with more potential to positively impact New Mexico families. Our teachers and children deserve to benefit from the decades of research on skilled reading development and the most effective instructional methods for all children, including struggling readers and culturally and linguistically diverse readers.

Why do we need a capital outlay of this size or an institute devoted to reading instruction? We need this, and we need it now because research suggests that if a child is a struggling reader in first grade, there is an 88% chance that they will remain a struggling reader in fourth grade. In fact, first-grade reading levels have been shown to predict high school reading outcomes. The bottom line is that fourth grade is too late to find out that a child cannot read. We must provide pre-service elementary teachers, reading specialists, and special educators with substantially deeper training in reading assessment and instruction. Further, this institute will be a place where families and educators can go when they see that their children and students require help in reading and literacy above and beyond the school day or school year.

Colleges of education around the country and in New Mexico are realizing what reading scores have shown for decades: that teachers are not being prepared to teach reading in ways that are aligned with valid reading research. Reading is the key that unlocks all other learning potential. Children experiencing poverty, linguistically diverse learners, and children with dyslexia are at a high risk of not learning to read well enough to fully access their education. We must ensure that teachers are empowered to recognize the linguistic and cultural strengths that children bring to the table. We must also provide teachers with a deep understanding of language and literacy development so that they can efficiently identify areas where students may need early, intensive support.

We cannot keep doing the same things and expect different reading outcomes. To deliver the quality and intensity of reading instruction necessary to support all children, teacher preparation and in-service professional development must be aligned with valid reading research. We cannot intervene or tutor our way out of this literacy crisis. Districts - the customers of the colleges of education - should not be expected to retrain underprepared teachers. Teachers also have enough on their plates without having to re-learn how to teach reading.

A physical institute will offer a space where both new and veteran teachers, as well as educators in training, can learn and collaborate on best practices and high-quality professional learning. The institute will be a place where learning differences can be assessed and where families can seek support for struggling readers. The institute will be the center of literacy innovation by and for New Mexicans. All families deserve access to such resources. The construction of this institute will demonstrate our commitment to the families and children of New Mexico.

I work for an organization that is on a mission to bridge the gap between research and the classroom to ensure that all children, including New Mexico's, are reading proficiently by the end of third grade. Join me in supporting the creation of a novel center for reading excellence right here in New Mexico.

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The New Mexico Public Education Department partners with educators, communities and families to ensure that all students are healthy, secure in their identity and holistically prepared for college, career and life. Currently, NMPED serves about 320,000 students in 189 districts and charter schools. Find an abundance of resources for administrators, educators, families and students at New Mexico Public Education Department (state.nm.us) or follow the NMPED on Facebook and Instagram .

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