Teaching the teachers: A reading update

A belief in teacher knowledge to turn reading around

Early Bird readers, hello again. Newcomers, welcome! If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up here to receive it every two weeks, and join our conversation on issues facing North Carolina’s young children and those who support them. If you’re already a subscriber, please help us reach more people by sharing this with your friends and co-workers interested in early childhood education.

For the last two years, EdNC has told the story of reading in North Carolina. Despite large investments to improve student outcomes over the last decade, reading proficiency rates have remained largely stagnant. Reporting from my EdNC colleague Rupen Fofaria pointed out inconsistencies with how reading has been taught in classrooms across the state. Teachers often lacked training on the science of reading, a body of research on how students learn to read.

A new state law, passed this year, is aimed at changing that. In Fofaria’s latest on the state’s work to begin implementing the law, he writes that the statute “is premised on the belief that teacher knowledge will help kids better than any curriculum or program.” That’s why folks from across institutions are partnering to ground teacher preparation coursework and classroom experience in scientific research.

In the UNC System, which trains 40% of the state’s public school teachers, educator preparation programs are conducting self-audits in their teaching of key reading concepts. By 2026, the system has set concrete goals for increasing teacher candidates’ level of preparation in teaching reading, and for decreasing racial disparities in preparation.

And in the community college system, administrators and faculty are creating literacy courses grounded in the science of reading, which will be embedded into the new teacher preparation programs coming to 52 of the state’s 58 colleges.

There are bright spots in North Carolina that leaders are now looking to learn from and replicate. One example is Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Literacy Center, which gives future teachers real-world experience through a partnership with Hickory City Public Schools.

We all know learning to read doesn’t start in kindergarten. I’ll be looking at how pre-K fits into the state’s plans soon. And I’ll be tuning into this conversation on September 8 from Book Harvest on new research from their home visiting program Book Babies, which provides families with books and literacy coaching in the first five years of life.

If you’re an early childhood educator, how would you like to be part of the conversation on improving reading proficiency in our youngest learners? Reply to this email and let me know.