Kids in Massachusetts, and nationwide, are behind on reading.
In her State of the Commonwealth address at the beginning of this year, Gov. Maura Healey proposed a $30 million investment over five years to boost early literacy efforts.
“Every child in this state needs to be able to read and read well — and we’re going to work together to give them the tools to do just that,” she said to thundering applause in the crowded House of Representatives chamber in January.
On Thursday, Healey, Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and K-12 and early education Commissioners Russell Johnston and Amy Kershaw took a victory lap for the launch of the program at Clinton Elementary School, celebrating that they secured funding in the state budget (though at only $20 million), and also received a $38 million federal literacy grant to help kids read.
On last year’s state testing, just 41 percent of third through eighth graders scored in the “meeting or exceeding expectations” range for English Language Arts. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said that grades three through five showed sharper declines than grades six through eight, “indicating challenges in early literacy.”
The literacy decline has been partially attributed to learning losses from pandemic-related school closures. But former DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley said earlier this year, “We have not been effectively teaching reading, as a country, for a long time.”
The ability to read has long-term economic and social consequences, and not being a proficient reader could drastically hurt an individual’s future opportunities, research shows.
Healey’s $20 million “Literacy Launch” program is focused on getting higher-quality literacy materials into dozens of districts, which they’re hoping will translate into improved reading scores and an improvement in the foundational skill that all other learning is dependent on.
Emily Brunelle, a fourth grader at Clinton…