As New York confronts a literacy crisis, there is an ongoing effort to ensure students with dyslexia and dysgraphia aren’t left behind.
Gov. Kathy Hochul last year signed a bill to create a task force to study the issue, and the panel’s work is now moving into a new phase: Public comment beginning next week.
Dinorah Dellacamera is on the task force and told Spectrum News 1 her son’s experience struggling to read in first grade is what ultimately led her to get involved in finding a solution.
“He couldn’t read and he felt everyone was going to think he was dumb. He’s a very bright kid, and it was unusual for him,” she said.
She explained that the ultimate goal of the panel is to “stem the bleeding” when it comes to New York’s literacy crisis, and find a way to correct course.
“We have to move with the times, whether it's human medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, you move with the times and you adjust your practice accordingly, or you’d be guilty of malpractice,” she said. “In education, it seems like it’s kind of arbitrary.”
The mandate for the task force was signed into law by Hochul late last year, and was rooted in experience for sponsor Assemblymember Robert Carroll.
“At the end of first grade, I had a teacher who noticed I was struggling mightily,” he said.
Ideally, the task force will result in concrete recommendations for screening, intervention and support for students both with and at risk of dyslexia and related disorders. It would also develop programming for teachers to help students.
“Whenever we’re talking about interventions for children in education, early interventions make all the difference,” he said.
Carroll stressed that the need for a deep understanding of how to best accomplish that is why the legislation has built in public comment requirements, with the first opportunity coming up next Monday, Sept. 16 in Albany.
“We don’t want to make it look like a bunch of legislators and bureaucrats said, ‘We’re going to make this new decision and nobody has any say.’ We want to hear their stories,” he said.
Dellacamera was emphatic that the way New York teaches reading is largely to blame both for students who are struggling to read, like her son, and those who aren’t.
“They didn’t know how to teach him, they didn’t know how to use programs based on the principles in the scientific literature,” she said.
When it comes to the bigger picture of New York’s overall reading crisis, Carroll said he is encouraged by Hochul’s focus in her executive budget this year on evidence-based reading, but argued the state needs to commit to developing a broader literacy program that focuses on all five pillars of reading.
“Not just phonics and phonemic awareness, but its fluency, its vocabulary, its comprehension, making sure those are all integrated into our curriculum,” he said.
The public hearing in Albany will take place in the state Education Building. There will be a virtual hearing on Sept. 23, and one held in New York City at at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 at 212 E 93rd St.
The state Education Department said the feedback will be used in crafting the task force’s final report.
"The task force’s comprehensive report of findings and recommendations, which is due to the governor on Dec. 22, will incorporate a detailed summary of the public testimony, reflecting the diverse perspectives and suggestions provided by stakeholders and the public,” said JP O'Hare, director of communications for the New York State Education Department. “This process ensures that the final recommendations are well-informed and responsive to the needs of students, educators, and families."