Kids Who Can’t Read
Teacher: “I’m looking at this running record for Andrew (5th grade student) and he can’t read words with multiple syllables. When’s he’s stuck and he tries to decode, I notice he doesn’t even really know vowel sounds.”
Admin: “Which STAAR practice group is he in?”
Teacher: “He meets with Ms. Pratt, but he disrupts the lessons a lot.”
Admin: “Do we have paperwork on him for care team support?”
Teacher: “Yes, I completed that last month.”
Admin: “Here it is. I found it. Who do we need to talk about next?”
*end of conversation*
This took place not so long ago as teachers met by grade level to talk about student growth. I was invited to be in attendance. It doesn’t really matter where it took place because I can guarantee that these kind of discussions go on in schools all over this country.
Let me also be clear from the start of this blog post that I do not blame teachers, instructional coaches, interventionists or campus administration for conversations like the one above.
It’s a broken system that lets our kids down.
So, I don’t want to be that person who bring up faults in the education system, rages at the establishment, and leaves the conversation without offering a few different ways for us to think about how to support fragile readers.
Can we consider a few possible ideas about how to work together?
Teachers–
Advocate for your kids. Keep talking about the kids who need additional support in every meeting where campus administration is present. If you don’t continue making noise about students who require intensive, thoughtful, targeted intervention, chances are that no one else will. You are the greatest advocate for your students who need a certified teacher with resources to close pervasive instructional gaps.
Respectfully set aside useless mandates and practices. Make time and use resources to meet with kids like Andrew who are not reading at grade level. This means you’ll most likely talk to specialists, instructional coaches and/or early reading teachers on your campus. Be a bulldog about getting help. It also makes you’ll most likely have to give up something or create a few stolen moments in order to find the few minutes to reteach what readers like Andrew are missing.
Instructional Coaches–
Check in on teachers–a lot. Set up short, dedicated times for looking at student data. Bring out the running records, look at formative assessments, end of unit assessments. Ask the teacher what they see (please don’t only rely on gut feelings–use the data available) and then check to make sure they have what they need to remediate for those kids who require it.
Keep at the work of advocating for teachers and kids. I’m still shocked at the number of kids that somehow slip through the cracks. No judgement here, just an urgency to get kids the support they need to be proficient readers. You see how hard teachers are working and they count on you to be the voice for them and their kids who need additional support. Ask hard questions like, “Can we discuss how we might use funds that are going to computer programs for reading to hire certified individuals to deliver reading intervention? Could the dollars spent replacing consumable workbooks be allotted to intervention personnel instead?”
Campus administrators–
Consider half day or full day planning sessions for teachers. Teachers never have enough quality time to plan with support. Coaches can and should be a part of these extended planning sessions. Several principals I know are moving to this model every few weeks so that teachers have plenty of focused, dedicated time for looking at student work, conferring notes, running records, benchmark assessments and then planning targeted instruction with high quality mentor texts. Recently, I spent a morning with first grade teachers supporting this type of instructional planning. When we debriefed the process, a couple of teachers shared: “I used to just trust our district scope and sequence, but I see how looking at student work is more effective in giving my kids what they really need.” “I can’t believe our team was making the planning process so much harder and we were staying to 8:30 a couple of evenings a week to get it all done. This is way more simple and effective.”
Make student needs a priority over compliance. This is a really tricky bit for campus administrators. Years ago, I had a principal who looked at each mandate handed down from central administration and weighed whether it helped teachers meet students’ needs or stood in the way. She protected us from the district. She stood in the gap so we didn’t feel the heat. I’m not suggesting that federal compliance is ignored. What I’m talking about are edicts like writing assessments every two weeks turned into the district office or every first grader has to be in small group reading instruction twice daily (is that even possible?).
Can we go back to Andrew’s needs as a reader and talk for a few minutes about how I might support that teacher in my role as a literacy consultant?
- I’d provide a screener so she could quickly determine which phonemes, digraphs, vowel/consonant blends Andrew was missing.
- We’d look at her schedule and carve out a few minutes (7-10 daily) for her to meet with Andrew to efficiently and effectively teach and allow him to practice the word work he needs.
- There would be a list of resources I’d share with Andrew’s teacher for texts that he could access instructionally so he’s not always reading texts far above his reading ability. Included would be ways to support him as he accesses grade level texts (audio supports, shortened texts).
- An offer to come to her language arts block to work alongside her for a period of time until she felt comfortable with the process of strategically closing gaps for Andrew.
I know the tyranny of the urgent teachers, coaches, and administrators fight every day. We talk a lot about students that are not performing at grade level because we care and we want to facilitate their growth. The myriad of required bits in an educator’s day do not leave the time needed to talk about fragile readers and what they must have to grow and achieve.
Let’s help and support one another to make that our absolute priority. I’m in.
How about you?
The “F” word that I would like to see is “Follow through”. That conversation was familiar whether I was a classroom teacher, resource teacher, principal, or literacy coach for districts. Minimal plan. Minimal action. Rush. Rush. Rush. We all “own” these kids in our buildings and need to assign a “case management” system for efficient and effective follow through on instruction, support, attendance, behaviors, and face to face contact with the student.
I could not agree more. I am still astounded when I hear of an upper elementary student who has somehow slipped through the cracks. It should never happen.Thanks for reading and responding!
The importance of collaboration cannot be underestimated. Teachers need to work with others when addressing students’ needs. Time has to be allocated for this work. We know so much, yet we keep making the same mistakes. Overwhelmed teachers need support.
I could not agree more. The amount of work that teachers face is unbelievable and it seems to me that more and more kids need individualized support. I know that’s a Tier One issue and a discussion for another day, but we must do more to empower and support teachers to meet student needs. Thanks for reading and responding!