This came in during our meeting. We usually sign onto letters in support for federal literacy programs for kids, even though it is not an adult education matter per se. Alexander’s bill basically eliminates literacy funding in ESEA. Let me know if you have any concerns about signing on by COB January 27th. Thanks! Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Ellen Fern <efern@wpllc.net> > To: Ellen Fern <efern@wpllc.net> > Subject: Letter from Advocates for Literacy on ESEA Draft > Date: January 26, 2015 at 3:01:36 PM EST > > Hello everyone – I am reaching out today because your organization has signed letters in the past in support of authorizing a comprehensive literacy program as part of ESEA reauthorization. Most of our letters have focused on supporting the LEARN Act in past Congresses and funding for the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) Program. > > The attached letter (and pasted below) asks Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray to authorize a comprehensive literacy program in their current efforts to reauthorize ESEA. The letter points out that the model for such a literacy initiative is the currently funded SRCL program based on the elements found in the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act. We are very concerned that the draft ESEA reauthorization proposal released by Senator Alexander does not include a dedicated funding stream focused on improving literacy achievement for disadvantaged students. > > This letter has been vetted already by a number of folks who participate in the Advocates for Literacy meetings and calls as well as our Congressional literacy supporters. > > If you would like to sign on to this letter, please let me know by COB Wednesday, January 28th. > > Thanks so much. > > Ellen > > > > January X, 2015 > > The Honorable Lamar Alexander The Honorable Patty Murray > Chairman Ranking Member > Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Health, Education, Labor and Pensions > Committee Committee > U.S. Senate U.S. Senate > Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 > > Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray: > > On behalf of Advocates for Literacy, a coalition of over 70 organizations focused on increasing the federal commitment to improved literacy instruction through federal resources and evidence based practice, we urge the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee to support the development, implementation, and funding of a comprehensive literacy initiative targeting early childhood, grades K-3, and grades 4-12 in a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The model for such a literacy initiative is the currently funded Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) program based on the elements found in the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act. We are very concerned that the draft ESEA reauthorization proposal released by Senator Alexander does not include a dedicated funding stream focused on improving literacy achievement for disadvantaged students. > > The United States faces unprecedented challenges to its economic dominance. To be successful in the 21st century, students need advanced reading and writing skills to gain entry into the modern global workplace. Postsecondary success depends on the ability of graduates to read and comprehend challenging content in such areas as math, science, and technology. > > Unfortunately, sixty percent (60%) of eighth and twelfth graders read below the proficient level on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress. One in four students enter ninth grade reading below basic and struggle to graduate because their literacy achievement is alarmingly low. Many of the more than 700,000 students who leave U.S. high schools each year without a diploma have low literacy skills. The consequences for the individuals and the costs to the nation are staggering in terms of lost wages and earnings over a lifetime, estimated at about $335 billion per year. For those students who earn a diploma, an increasing number must take remedial coursework upon entering college, without promising results: students who must enroll in a remedial reading course are less likely to eventually earn a degree or certificate. > > The SRCL program, which has been funded through the Department of Education since Fiscal Year 2010, is showing promising results for combating the literacy gap facing so many of the nation’s students. The six states <> that receive discretionary funding to support school districts in improving literacy instruction for the neediest students all report increases in literacy achievement. For example, Texas SRCL districts achieved double-digit gains in the percentage of students passing the state grade five and grade eight reading assessments and a major decline in the number of students identified with learning disabilities. In Nevada, literacy proficiency for participating 10th and 11th graders climbed from 28 to 51 percent in two years. Proficiency rates for disadvantaged students rose from 26 percent to 46 percent. In Louisiana, state English Language Arts (ELA) assessment results showed gains in all SRCL districts. The St. Bernard Parish Public Schools, where 80 percent of students come from families living in poverty, moved up in rank in the state’s ELA assessment from 32nd among 70 districts to 11th. St. Bernard Parish teachers were first in Louisiana in the ratings for highly effective teachers in the last official reporting period. > > Until recently, few states had coherent policies and funding to support, scale up, and sustain high-quality literacy instruction at each level of education. A national comprehensive literacy policy would directly address the high number of those students reading below grade level who are poor and minority students. Experts agree on the instructional practices and policies that are required if all students are to attain a 21st century standard of literacy. Writing and reading skills must be taught in a continuum reflecting the growing complexity of literacy skills and knowledge needed to succeed at each level of education. The framework for a literacy policy must be comprehensive, reflecting a continuum of learning and containing three elements—early childhood, grades K-3, and middle grades and high school. > > Overall a dedicated funding stream for a comprehensive literacy program must be included in a reauthorized ESEA that provides resources to states to help school districts to improve literacy instruction, a core component of any successful education program. The SRCL program builds upon the following key components: > > The essential literacy elements of reading and writing are linked in ways supported by research based practices. > States set goals and create plans based on each state's individual needs as determined by the state education agency and a state literacy team comprised of a wide range of professionals. > Assessment, a key part of the program, provides information to improve instruction. > The comprehensive program aligns early childhood, elementary school, middle grades, and high school so that teachers can collaborate across academic levels and students have seamless literacy learning. > Resources must be directed to our nation’s schools and early childhood programs serving our neediest youth, as the process of learning to read and write begins at the earliest stages of life when a child first hears sounds and begins building language skills. Proactive, preventive efforts and targeted early interventions with at-risk or low-income pre-schoolers offer high potential returns in terms of later school success because achievement gaps between low-income and more affluent children begin well before kindergarten, are easier and more cost-effective to close in very young children, and without targeted intervention, will likely increase with each school year. > Professional development that increases teacher knowledge and skills in evidence-based instruction is a critical component of student learning. > Family engagement needs to be an integral part of literacy instruction and targeted initiatives, from preschool through high school, in order to achieve desired outcomes for all students. > > It is time for the nation to recognize the economic and civil rights issues of closing the glaring literacy achievement gap. The federal government has a role to play in helping to improve literacy instruction and learning for all children across the continuum from early childhood through high school, but it will require strong commitment with focused resources. We look forward to working with you both to include a comprehensive literacy policy in the reauthorization of ESEA so that teachers and principals are supported in equipping more young children and students to read and write proficiently so they can learn content in every subject area and can graduate to become successful college students and productive members of society. > > Sincerely, > > > > > Ellen Fern > Principal > Washington Partners, LLC > 1101 Vermont Avenue, NW; Suite 400 > Washington, DC 20005 > 202.349.2306 > efern@wpllc.net <mailto:efern@wpllc.net> >