With Halloween around the corner, we’re talking about monsters this week. The kind that sit in a classroom, wearing a science of reading mask.
Here’s something many parents have told us, in different words. Your child’s school says it has adopted an evidence-based reading program. You see the phonics lessons come home. Then the leveled book comes home too. Something feels off, and you don’t know how to ask about it without sounding like you’re criticizing the teacher.
You’re not imagining it, and it isn’t the teacher’s fault. Across New York, districts have added structured literacy programs without retiring what came before. We call that the Frankenstein curriculum, and this Sunday we’re showing you what it looks like on Long Island, what the research says about why it fails, and what a coherent system looks like instead.
Confronting the
Frankenstein Curriculum
New York law already requires every district to review its early reading curriculum each year and to make sure all reading interventions are part of an aligned plan. So why do so many Long Island districts list programs from two different approaches? Join the Long Island Literacy Coalition™ this Sunday as we discuss what the documents show.
New to this topic? Get up to speed first with our presentation, What Every Parent and Teacher Should Know (42:25). [Watch on YouTube →]
Passcode: LILiteracy
Confronting the Frankenstein Curriculum: Why Patchwork Literacy Practices Fail
We reviewed the websites and board documents of 121 Long Island elementary-serving districts and compared what we found with what districts told the state. We’ll walk you through it, along with:
How the mix of two approaches shows up in curriculum, assessment, intervention, and teacher training
What a child actually experiences when a classroom teaches both
What aligned instruction looks like, from PK through grade 12
The questions to ask your own district
It’s free, it’s on Zoom, and you don’t need a background in reading research.
This Sunday, October 25 at 8 PM
THE LAW PASSED. THE PATCHWORK DIDN’T GO AWAY.
EdTrust-New York found that 147 of 688 districts statewide told the state they still use a balanced literacy curriculum, and that most of them supplement it with phonics. Another 6% reported a mix of evidence-based and non-evidence-based curriculum, and still count as evidence-based.
EdTrust also notes that attestations alone can’t show whether materials are used as designed in classrooms. Our Long Island review looks at exactly that gap.
COME WITH YOUR DISTRICT IN MIND
Forward this email to one parent, one teacher, or one board member who’d want to know. The more people who can see the pattern, the harder it is for a district to leave it unexamined.
Become a District Lead
Growing our voice means growing our impact. We're looking for passionate Science of Reading advocates to serve as the point person for their school district. Help literacy advocacy accountability be heard.
As a District Lead, you'll help us:
Be the contact for LILC members and parents in your district
Spread the word on our events, campaigns, and district updates
Encourage turnout at BOE meetings + public comment opportunities
