Governor Kim Reynolds says focusing on what she calls the “science of reading” will improve the reading skills of Iowa students.
The governor visited Adele this afternoon and sat among a group of first grade students as their teacher Erin Koelker gave them a reading lesson. The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn district adopted the science of reading in all grades three years ago, and Travis Welker, the administrator in charge of the project, said he has had “amazing results.” Four years ago, tests showed that a quarter of the district’s K-11 students were not proficient readers. This year’s results show that 95% are proficient in reading and writing.
“Our teachers have adopted it at all levels. We’ve asked our high school teachers to get involved, not just at our lowest grade level,” he said, “and the results speak for themselves.”
Reynolds chose the ADM board room as the site to sign into law a bill stating that Iowa schools must develop a plan for every student in the first, second or third grade who is not on grade level. Is reading. The law does not outlaw “three-prompt” reading curriculum, but it does require testing of Iowa college students who want to become teachers to measure their knowledge of the science of reading.
The most recent data shows that 35% of Iowa’s third grade students are not reading on grade level. “That’s why we’ve made it a priority to empower all teachers and school districts with the tools they need to implement the science of reading in their classrooms by providing critical training at no cost to 6,000 teachers and 600 administrators,” Reynolds said.
About $9 million is set aside in the state budget for that training.
“Stay tuned because I think this is something that we’ll be able to show progress from year to year and really have some good wins to talk about,” Reynolds said.
The governor spoke to reporters at the end of a corridor called the “Literacy Path” by Adel School.
