Hochul outlines plan to bring phonics back to N.Y. public schools

Jan. 3—WATERVLIET — Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul wants to see New York's public schools go back to the basics when it comes to reading education, and that means a return to phonics-based learning for most students.

In an event in an elementary school library just a few miles north of Albany on Wednesday, Hochul announced her "Back to Basics" reading plan, which would direct the state's Education Department to update its reading education standards to reemphasize phonics for elementary students.

Hochul said the current system emphasized in classrooms across New York, championed by education expert and author Lucy Calkins, focuses on the wrong things when it comes to teaching kids how to read. The Calkins approach considers children natural readers and encourages teachers to provide avenues for children to learn reading on their own. But it's been derided in recent years by growing numbers of educational researchers and teachers, who have argued it doesn't reflect the scientific understanding of how children read.

Hochul agreed with those researchers and teachers, and said it's evident that the New York state educational system, which boosted the Calkins method to teachers, has caused harm to New York's students.

"They de-emphasized phonics-based learning, and pushed students to learn by using contextual clues and teaching the kids what they mean," Hochul said.

She said children with learning disabilities, and those who don't speak English as a primary language are especially disadvantaged by the Calkins method.

She said she will introduce a plan through her State of the State address and the budget process to direct the state Education Department to update its guidelines, direct teachers to stop using the Calkins method and return to a phonics-based model. She'll also support a plan to provide $10 million in state funding to train teachers on the programs, and ask the state education department to approach teaching colleges and request they stop using the Calkins method in their own training programs.

She said that $10 million should help to train more than 20,000 teachers on the phonics-based method.

"This is a very big deal, because for a long team, people realized what was going on, what was not working, but nobody stood up and said it needs to change," she said.

The literacy rate for elementary school-aged kids in New York has fallen over the last 20 years, closely matching the timeframe when the Calkins method was introduced widely in classrooms. Proficiency rates, or the rate of students deemed to have a grade-appropriate grasp on a subject, in English Language Arts have been below historical averages for years, and in 2023 only 46% of all third graders in the New York public school system were deemed proficient.

Out of just under 300 3rd grade students tested in Watertown's city school district in 2023, only 24% were deemed proficient. In Ogdensburg, 78 students were tested and 45% were deemed proficient.

At the Lowville Academy and Central School District, 100 students were tested in ELA last year, and only 18% were deemed proficient.

In the Hudson City School District, 93 third graders took ELA tests in 2023, and 29% were deemed proficient.

"We're going to throw away the old method, say goodbye, it didn't work, and lets get back to the basics," she added.

The move has the support of a number of educational experts, including the New York State United Teachers union. The NYSUT president Melinda Pearson spoke at Wednesday's event.

"This is part of a national movement," she said. "It acknowledges not only the importance of literacy, but it also recognizes that teaching students to read is a complex task. It is not simple, and in the past 10 years, almost every state has implemented new policies with regard to reaching and ensuring teachers have full access to the latest tools for this teaching."

The director of the New York chapter of National Parents Union, a group that says it advocates for minority, low-income, LGBTQ+ and single parents, lauded the Governor's announcement as a meaningful step to address the precipitous drop in reading comprehension over the last few years.

"The Governor's Back to Basics Reading plan answers our call by beginning to address the reading crisis that has persisted for decades and has the opportunity to transform the lives of children across New York," said the group's New York director Ashara Baker in a statement on Wednesday. "We will continue in our fight for excellent, equitable education for all, and that begins with the understanding that literacy is a civil right."

Hochul outlined her plan as the second priority in her 2024 State of the State address, a speech the Governor gives at the start of each year laying out their priorities for the legislative session. She will present the full address on Jan. 9.