CRIDERSVILLE, OH (WLIO) - Governor Mike DeWine visited Cridersville Elementary School to discuss the science of reading and how to implement it in Ohio classrooms.
Balanced literacy is a teaching method based on the idea that teaching reading should give children the joy of reading from the beginning. However, it does not have a targeted focus on phonics and since 1984, schools across the country have taken this approach.
Unfortunately, in that time, reading scores plummeted and the COVID-related loss of learning time made it even worse. A 2022 study done by the National Report Card showed only 35% of American children are reading proficiently. Wapakoneta City Schools was no exception, and two years ago the district came together, determined to change the statistics.
"We looked at the science of reading being most important," stated Aaron Rex, superintendent. "Starting with phonics and phonemic awareness, and moving on to comprehension, vocabulary, you know all those topics. But what's the top priority? And we decided to start with phonics."
Once students gain phonemic awareness, they then move on to reading comprehension and at Cridersville Elementary school the new approach has been anything but disappointing.
"The teachers were all so much more comfortable teaching reading. And what we then started to notice with our students is that they were so much happier in the reading classes. We saw their discipline kind've moved down a little bit, and now of course they're reading as been improving as well," said Carrie Knoch, director of student achievement.
The improvement is a direct result of the district's 5-year plan to implement a systematic and structured literacy program with complete fidelity and while Cridersville is only two years in, they've already caught the attention of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his wife Frances.
"They have demonstrated that this will make a big difference, this will change lives. We heard from three students, who frankly look like their lives have been fundamentally changed because they went from being students who were told they couldn't read, to students who can read now," commented Mike and Frances DeWine, Governor and First Lady of Ohio.
As a result of Criderville Elementary and schools across the state implementing the Science of Reading, Governor DeWine signed an executive order under the notion of promoting evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with the Science of Reading in Ohio classrooms.
"This is really the way to do it. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of effort. We put money in the budget, I think about $170 million to help our schools make the transition, and to make sure the staff is trained, and we're also paying for the curriculum and all the materials," stated Governor Mike DeWine.
The executive order will be carried out over the next two years.
