Please pass HB 211.
Teachers are not consistently prepared to teach children how to read using evidence-based literacy instruction grounded in science-based reading research. Out of the 31 Undergrad and Graduate Educator Prep programs in VA audited by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) in Jan 2023, only 9 (36%) of the 25 programs reviewed were found to accurately teach all 5 components of Early Literacy (phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension.)
Over the last 2 years LCPS has spent over $2 million dollars to retrain reading specialists and elementary general education teachers on how to teach reading. They have spent even more for Special Education teachers. This cannot continue.
If we do not conduct a baseline audit of all Educators Prep Programs to make certain they are teaching evidence based literacy instruction according to science based reading instruction and just allow the 7 year cycle to continue, we will have decades of teachers who graduate from teacher prep programs not prepared to teach reading. Who pays for that afterwards? The school districts and counties will continue to pay millions of dollars for decades to reteach teachers foundational literacy instruction.
Other states like Colorado have conducted literacy baseline audits of educator preparation programs and found them to be woefully insufficient. They are now requiring them every 5 years.
In Virginia, only new endorsement programs include a review by content specialists that all of the competencies required by the Board of Education and the Code of Virginia are incorporated in the programs. After initial approval, there is no continuing audit of syllabi and instructional materials by VDOE and no focus on literacy instruction. This is a problem.
The 2018 General Assembly passed legislation to require that "Each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that leads to a degree, concentration, or certificate for reading specialists shall include a program of coursework and other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder." The Department of Education advised institutions of higher education (IHE) of this new requirement and only requested IHE self-report that they included this preparation. VDOE did not review content, syllabi, lectures, etc. to make certain that there was compliance. This is a larger problem.
Institutes of Higher Education has had meetings with SCHEV to discuss what evidence based literacy instruction should look like in 2020 with SB904. They should be in compliance by now and they are not. Please help to fix these issues with a 2 year baseline audit so that teachers come out of educator prep programs knowing how to teach reading in accordance with VLA. Pass HB211.
Please pass HB 211. Teachers are not consistently prepared to teach children how to read using evidence-based literacy instruction grounded in science-based reading research. Out of the 31 Undergrad and Graduate Educator Prep programs in VA audited by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) in Jan 2023, only 9 (36%) of the 25 programs reviewed were found to accurately teach all 5 components of Early Literacy (phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension.) Over the last 2 years LCPS has spent over $2 million dollars to retrain reading specialists and elementary general education teachers on how to teach reading. They have spent even more for Special Education teachers. This cannot continue. If we do not conduct a baseline audit of all Educators Prep Programs to make certain they are teaching evidence based literacy instruction according to science based reading instruction and just allow the 7 year cycle to continue, we will have decades of teachers who graduate from teacher prep programs not prepared to teach reading. Who pays for that afterwards? The school districts and counties will continue to pay millions of dollars for decades to reteach teachers foundational literacy instruction. Other states like Colorado have conducted literacy baseline audits of educator preparation programs and found them to be woefully insufficient. They are now requiring them every 5 years. In Virginia, only new endorsement programs include a review by content specialists that all of the competencies required by the Board of Education and the Code of Virginia are incorporated in the programs. After initial approval, there is no continuing audit of syllabi and instructional materials by VDOE and no focus on literacy instruction. This is a problem. The 2018 General Assembly passed legislation to require that "Each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that leads to a degree, concentration, or certificate for reading specialists shall include a program of coursework and other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder." The Department of Education advised institutions of higher education (IHE) of this new requirement and only requested IHE self-report that they included this preparation. VDOE did not review content, syllabi, lectures, etc. to make certain that there was compliance. This is a larger problem. Institutes of Higher Education has had meetings with SCHEV to discuss what evidence based literacy instruction should look like in 2020 with SB904. They should be in compliance by now and they are not. Please help to fix these issues with a 2 year baseline audit so that teachers come out of educator prep programs knowing how to teach reading in accordance with VLA. Pass HB211.