6/6/2023

Driving student success with effective literacy policy

As of July 2023, 32 states plus Washington, D.C., passed state legislation or policy related to literacy instruction requirements. This legal action has become instrumental in increasing literacy rates among U.S. schools, especially after the learning gaps and setbacks caused by the global pandemic.

On our All for Literacy podcast, host Dr. Liz Brooke had a frank discussion with Dr. Kymyona Burk about what it means to establish a literacy policy honed for student success. Burk currently serves as senior policy fellow for early literacy at ExcelinEd, an organization dedicated to advancing a broad range of student-centered policy solutions across the country. Previously, Burk served as executive director for the Jackson Public School District’s Office of Teaching and Learning in Mississippi and the state literacy director at the Mississippi Department of Education.

With a focus on evidence-based programs that support both teachers and students, Burk gives our listeners her criteria for what makes an effective literacy policy—including four must-have qualities.

Effective literacy policies spread support and responsibility across all early grades

Many state literacy policies aim to establish solid literacy rates by the end of third grade. Teachers in the early educational years should think of literacy instruction as a baton to pass off—preparing students as best they can to hand off to the teacher in the next grade. It's a true joint effort and responsibility.

Even though these are often called “third-grade laws,” “We can’t wait until third grade…this is not just a third-grade teacher’s responsibility,” Burk emphasizes. “This is every teacher that touches the child as they transition to getting to third grade.”

A success-driven literacy policy spreads the responsibility of literacy instruction across all of the early grades. Early preparation and instruction reduce the need for critical intervention activities for older students.

Effective literacy policies empower teachers to teach reading well

Phonemic awareness—the precursor to successful literacy rates—is only covered in about half of teacher training programs in the U.S. With the nationwide literacy crisis, proper teacher training is needed now more than ever to mitigate low literacy rates.

Effectual literacy policies empower both new and established teachers to increase literacy rates through science-backed, day-to-day classroom instruction. In the podcast episode, Burk explains that establishing a common language around reading instruction through statewide required training is a great first step. This allows teachers to get on the same page in terms of what is being taught in the classroom and how to best implement literacy instruction.

During her time with the Mississippi Department of Education, Burk was instrumental in rolling out the state’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act. The state adopted one vendor for professional development training—Lexia LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling)—to establish a common language among all. “We trained our teachers, we trained our administrators, and we wanted to make sure that as a state, we had a common language around reading instruction,” Burk states.

Specialized literacy coaches would then help educators transfer this new knowledge and theory into practice and into the classroom. The collaboration between coaches and teachers saved time in the long run. Empowering teachers to better teach literacy at the classroom level contributes to the long-term success of statewide literacy policies.

Effective literacy policies create primary jobs, not additional duties

Already inundated with daily responsibilities, tasking teachers and administrators with additional duties is not likely to lead to successful policy implementation. In some states, policy duties become an add-on to the already busy schedules of school administrators and educators. But this can often lead to less-than-perfect roll out and underperformance overall. Instead, literacy policies should create supervisory positions that support policy deployment and function.

Burk and her team found success by establishing a supervisory hub at the state level and teams of literacy coaches at the classroom level. “Having a hub…that was completely responsible for the implementation…is critical to how they were able to be successful,” Burk explains about her experience at the Mississippi Department of Education.

Establishing supervisory teams and positions helps ensure what the policy dictates is actually happening in schools. It creates the level of accountability and monitoring needed to successfully implement and fine-tune a multilayered policy across numerous districts and schools. These focused positions also add an additional element of support and guidance which contributes to long-term student success.

Effective literacy policies grow buy-in through public relations and outreach

While it's often human nature to resist change, successful policy implementation requires trust and support from teachers, parents, and administrators. State policymakers can earn buy-in from these key stakeholders through early public relations and outreach.

Burk’s main task for the first two years after Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act passed was to use transparency and communication to build trust with parents, educators, and educational leaders. She met with these important stakeholders for candid conversations about the law, what requirements were at stake, and when the promotion retention component would go into effect—making sure to answer the most pressing questions from constituents.

Perhaps one of the hardest groups to win over, teachers, required extra outreach to build trust in the state’s new policy. “We had a lot of trust to build with those educators who were in the [classrooms] every day,” Burk remembers. “We just had to keep working and building those relationships.” Burk and her team found success in letting the work of their literacy coaches in the classrooms speak for themselves. Having literacy specialists interact with educators on a daily basis helped build relationships and foster an understanding of the law and its principles.

Public relations and outreach help create a partnership between the state agency, school district, district leaders, administrators, and teachers, which drives constructive policy implementation and higher literacy rates.

Implementation is key

Literacy policies that drive student success need the support of all early-grade educators, empower teachers to implement science-based literacy instruction, require focused oversight, and thrive with the proper public relations and outreach strategy.

“Passing the law is the first step, but the implementation is key,” Burk states. Establishing the four essential qualities of an effective literacy policy from the start combined with thoughtful implementation set a state up for long-term success.

Brooke expressed gratitude for Burk’s bringing key insight into literacy policy on the All for Literacy podcast. “These conversations are happening because of the work that educators everywhere are doing, and we're so glad that you are part of it,” says Brooke.

Listen in to our All for Literacy episode with Dr. Kymyona Burk today to join the conversation about the intersection of law and literacy.