New Mexico students’ reading proficiency scores rank last in the nation. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, aiming to change that trajectory, joined 43 other states and the District of Columbia by signing into law a literacy reform bill in March.
Buried toward the bottom of that bill is language regarding what some experts believe to be one of the most important aspects of successful literacy reform laws—though it often flies under the radar.
That key piece of legislation? Parent notification.
Finding language in the bill related to parent notification requires scrolling past information about phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling, fluency, vocabulary, oral language and comprehension. But it’s there.
If a public school identifies a student as having a reading difficulty based on the results of a literacy assessment, educators must provide written notice to the student’s parents within 30 days. The school must also send home monthly written reports on the student’s progress and provide a read-at-home plan customized to address specific skill deficits, among other actions.
States that require schools to both assess students for reading progress and notify parents of the results show strong results, observes Amanda Aragon Bernabe, executive director of NewMexicoKidsCAN, part of the national nonprofit education advocacy organization 50CAN. But while parent notification is a critical piece of successful literacy reform, it’s also one of the trickiest aspects to implement effectively, she said.
Education Week caught up with Bernabe recently to learn more about the parent notification piece of the literacy reform puzzle: what it entails, why it may catch parents off guard, and how administrators and educators feel about it.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Families don’t always realize whether their local schools are preparing students to meet state standards. Could you speak more about that disconnect?
Consider The State of Educational Opportunity in America: A Survey of 23,000 Parents, a 50-state study from 50CAN and Edge Research. In the New Mexico version of the survey, we poll a little over 400 parents in New Mexico, and one of the questions we ask is, “Do you believe that your child is on grade level?”
In the most recent iteration, 88% of respondents thought their 4th grade children were at or above grade level in reading; 14% thought their children were below grade level.
In reality, NAEP scores showed that 20% of New Mexico 4th grade students were at or above reading level, and 80% were below grade level.
Why does this disconnect matter?
Parents who think that their kid is on grade level are going to interact with the school system differently than they would if they knew their child was struggling.
For instance, if you think your kid is on track, you’re probably not as inclined to sign them up for a free summer reading program. If your kid is on track, you’re probably not actively at parent-teacher conferences asking what interventions for reading are taking place, asking if your kid can have access to tutoring or, if you can afford it, hiring a private tutor.
The state’s new parent notification process includes a read-at-home plan for families. What’s on it?
The state’s department of education is currently developing the template. It will require schools to provide parents with information about the five essential components of reading, guidance on how to read with a student at home, suggested daily reading activities, specific strategies and games to build literacy skills, and information about how to monitor progress.
For students who are English-language learners, it will also require schools to share with parents the children’s progress toward being proficient in English.
How effective do you think this notification system will be at cutting down on the disconnect between parents’ assumptions and reality?
Like so many things in education, I imagine that we will have schools and districts that implement this very well, and that provide staff training on how to have these conversations with families.
The schools and districts that will likely be most successful are those that have a very intentional family engagement process—not just like, “come to the PTA, or sell some wrapping paper"—but that are well-versed in best practices and having conversations with parents and having effective parent-teacher conferences.
Have you seen signs that point to a promising use of the parent notification process?
Yes. I watched the Albuquerque public schools’ Board of Education meeting recently. Their five-year strategic plan has four very clear goals, and one of those goals is improved 3rd grade reading proficiency.
One of the questions that came up in the meeting was, “How are we meeting with parents and families? Do they know what we’re doing [around parent notification]?”
An attendee said that Senate Bill 37 [New Mexico’s recently passed literacy reform bill] has really helped their district accelerate and improve the level of communication they’re having with families about their children who are struggling with reading. That was the first time I’ve heard a district cite the bill specifically, so that was exciting.
Do you have any concerns about schools and districts implementing the parent notification piece of this legislation?
We’ve heard some pushback from schools and districts, things like, “We don’t have time to do this.”
I’m actually kind of shocked that school leaders or educators would say that they don’t have time to tell parents that their child is struggling. How are we ever going to move forward if our position is that the system does not have time to inform parents that their child is struggling?
We’re probably going to have some district leaders who stand in front of their staff and say, “We know you don’t have time for this. We know this is just another thing that the state is requiring of you.”
That is a very different conversation than a principal or a superintendent who stands in front of their staff and says, “We are on a mission to improve reading outcomes in this school and district. Part of that means that our parents are informed and partners in their child’s learning.”
So I think we’re going to see two very different outcomes.