From: U.S. Department of Education [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:06 PM
To: U.S. Department of Education
Subject: FYI - Reading First Letter from Secretary Spellings
FYI - You may be interested in the following letter sent from U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to Senator Robert Byrd, Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator Michael Enzi, Congressman David Obey, Congressman George Miller, Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon and Congressman Jerry Lewis.
June 25, 2008
Dear [NAME]:
Reading is the skill on which all other learning depends.?? And so it is with disappointment I note recent Appropriations Subcommittee actions to eliminate critical funding for the groundbreaking Reading First program.
The program's origins trace back to a historic and bipartisan Congressional vote to create the National Reading Panel.?? The panel examined more than 20 years of scientific research to determine the most effective methods of reading instruction.
Reading First applies these findings to the classroom and to training teachers in the use of scientifically based reading research to improve the literacy skills of more than 1.6 million students.?? State-reported performance data released this month indicates impressive gains in reading comprehension, with improvements seen by nearly every grade and subgroup of students.?? For example, 28 of 37 States that reported data experienced increases in the percentage of students proficient in reading comprehension.?? Of these, 25 States increased by five percentage points or more.
It is extremely regrettable, therefore, that the reading gains of our most vulnerable students would now be threatened by legislative action.?? I would urge you to talk with principals and teachers in Reading First classrooms before making a final decision.?? You may find, as I have, that the program has helped raise expectations and prepare students, including English language learners and students with disabilities, for academic success.
I would also like to make sure you are aware that the Reading First Advisory Committee, an independent panel of literacy experts nominated by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute for Literacy, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Education, has recommended Congress not eliminate funding at this time.
We now know what it takes to teach reading.?? Zeroing out Reading First would endanger our academic progress, send the wrong message to teachers, and, worst of all, do a disservice to our nation's neediest students.
