NEWS RELEASE

April 21, 2023

Dear Educational Leader,

We, the International Dyslexia Association - Northern New England Alliance, are proud to share that hundreds of people from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont attended five film screenings of the documentary, The Truth About Reading* The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight, in February and March. Screenings were held at Southern New Hampshire University, the University of Southern Maine, Norwich University, and the Colonial Theater in Keene. After each film, a speaker panel directly followed, featuring students, teachers, professors, and educational leaders, who shared their experiences and answered questions from the audience.

The Truth About Reading* describes the difficult journeys of American teacher and real estate developer John Corcoran and Canadian entrepreneur David Chalk. Neither had learned to read and endured decades of feeling bewildered and humiliated, until middle age, when they received evidence-based methods to read and spell the English language, called “structured literacy.” These learning needs were not addressed because their schoolteachers did not know how to help them. Other adults in the film shared similar, painful stories about how their lives were affected by illiteracy. In an especially moving scene, Mr. Chalk described the joy of opening a trove of  letters from friends and family received over the years, and finally reading them.

Sadly, it did not have to be this way. The research on how people learn to read has been known for decades, research that has now been incorporated in reading programs that work. This instruction is mandated in some states and now provided by a growing number of well-trained teachers across America.

One panelist, Vermont eighth grader Asa Dorfman, shared his struggle to engage in school as a result of undiagnosed dyslexia:

 I didn’t care about school and just goofed around. What made me start to care was tutoring. I got the instruction I needed. The education that came with my diagnosis taught me that learning is only boring if you don’t have the prior knowledge to work from… Students shouldn’t need well-educated parents to get what they need. The school should just provide disability screenings for all students.

Vermont parent and school board member Jeff Leake said,

Assistive technology really may be limiting our children. My daughter has been told that she will need to rely on assistive technology to be successful. This is instead of teaching her – and other children – to read and spell. We really are accommodating our children instead of remediating their disabilities.

Andra Mills, a film panelist, reading teacher, and LETRS trainer (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading), shared the following:

We know kids need a structured approach to learning to read that is step-by-step, systematic, explicit, and cumulative. We can’t presume that students will learn to read by being surrounded by beautiful books and by being read to.

This country is experiencing a shift in the way literacy is taught. We need to get on board and change our Tier I instruction so that every student has the opportunity to learn to read, which will enable them to be successful in their education, feel good about themselves, get a job, and provide security for themselves and their families.

Teachers want to help students succeed. They spend hours thinking about their struggling students and trying to figure out how to help them. They must be given the tools they seek because they are our best assurance against reading failure.

The response since the film has been enormous. People across the country are reacting to The Truth About Reading* with astonishment and concern, and many are demanding change in their school districts and beyond, not just for children with dyslexia, but for all children to learn literacy in the general classroom based on reading science.

Consistently, film attendees have commented:

I'm so angry because it didn't have to be so hard

Kids do not have to struggle to learn to read.

We know better. We're now supposed to do better.

Maine parent Erica Richards endured years of battling her son’s school to provide him evidence-based reading instruction. She said:

I'm so frustrated and sad. My tears are truly tears of sadness and pain, pain for all we have had to go through, and all we watched Myles go through, just so he could learn to read. He didn't ask for dyslexia, but he’s left to manage it – and the school systems failed him miserably!

Still today, many higher-education institutions still do not train preservice teachers in effective reading instruction. K–12 schools continue to use baseless curriculum and instruction, including these widely found in classrooms: Reading Recovery, Fountas & Pinnell, and Calkins’ Units of Study. Use of these programs has widened the divide, as seen by the downward trajectory in Northern New England in the chart below.

Students do not fail to read because of poverty, technology, or family background. Students in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont need structured literacy, which provides direct, responsive, systematic, and cumulative instruction in phonological awareness, sound-symbol association (phonics), morphology, vocabulary, and syntax. Frequent evidence-based assessments measure their progress and inform classroom instruction and interventions.

At the IDA-NNEA, we are delighted to witness New Hampshire's pioneering efforts in championing literacy education. Last fall, New Hampshire took a significant step forward by offering LETRS training to all interested K-12 teachers, administrators, and parents. This comprehensive program is designed to equip educators, administrators, and parents with the background knowledge and skills necessary to effectively teach reading and spelling. Then this month, the New Hampshire Legislature passed HB 377 by voice vote, legislation which mandates evidence-based, universal screening for dyslexia and related disorders in grades K–3, as well as at other critical developmental times. The goal is to ensure that every student’s learning needs are identified and addressed. A key aspect of the bill is its emphasis on prompt action. This includes timely screenings, transparent communication of results to parents, and the provision of evidence-based reading instruction to all students. This bill, combined with LETRS training, will equip many more students to read at or above grade level. New Hampshire will join 29 other states and the District of Columbia to require structured literacy in their schools.

Since fall 2016, the Maine Legislature has mandated dyslexia screening in phonological awareness, decoding, and encoding for grade K–2 students, but only if referred by a classroom teacher. The creation of a statewide Dyslexia Coordinator was another provision of the law in order to support districts in responding to reading and language-based difficulties. No parental notification or expectation of remediation is mentioned.

Vermont is one of three states in the country without a dyslexia screening law, nor is the disability mentioned on the website of the Vermont Agency of Education. In contrast, both the Maine and New Hampshire Departments of Education provide extensive information and resources to schools and families on screening for and remediating dyslexia.

We at IDA-NNEA are here to help families, community members, school board members, and government officials do right by our children and teach all to read. While we hope for a statewide commitment in Vermont and Maine, as discussed in New Hampshire, we also support local efforts to adopt curricular and assessment programs grounded in reading science. In The Truth About Reading*,  John Corcoran said, “It is a noble and righteous cause to teach all children to read.” We fully agree.

On behalf of the IDA-NNEA Board,

Susan Hourihan, President

International Dyslexia Association – Northern New England Alliance

For more information, please see:

American Federation of Teachers: Teaching Reading is Rocket Science

Emily Hanford 2022 Podcast Series: Sold a Story

International Dyslexia Association - Northern New England Alliance

International Dyslexia Association: Structured Literacy - An Introductory Guide

International Dyslexia Association Central Ohio: Dyslexia Screening, Intervention, and Teacher Training Roadmap 1.0

Maine Department of Education: Dyslexia

National Council on Teacher Quality: The Four Pillars to Reading Success - An Action Guide for States

New Hampshire Department of Education: Screening and Intervention for Dyslexia and Related Disorders

The Children’s Reading Foundation: What’s the Impact?

University of Florida - Ceedar Center: Every Student Deserves and Equitable Opportunity to Achieve

Zaner-Bloser: The Science of Reading - Evidence for a New Era of Reading Instruction