Attribution:

Rebecca Shankland is an instructional consultant at a rural intermediate school district in

northern Michigan. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education, a master's degree
in K-12 reading and literacy, and is currently pursuing an education specialist degree in
administration. In addition to her current position, her career experiences include lower
elementary, middle school, and assessment specialist for a charter school authorizer.

Third-Grade Reading Legislation Provides Opportunities for Schools to Shore-Up Core

Instruction

On October 6, 2016, Governor Rick Snyder signed game-changing legislation into law for public
schools across Michigan. The new 3rd Grade Reading legislation, formerly House Bill 4822,
appears complicated at first glance and riddled with many loopholes for school districts and
parents. However, when approached from a different angle it provides great opportunities for
schools, teachers, and children.

The Third-Grade Reading legislation entails many requirements for both Michigan Department
of Education (MDE) and school districts, often blinding districts, teachers, and parents of the
intended outcomes. In fact, during an interview with Amanda Price, author and primary
sponsor, of the Third-Grade Reading legislation, she indicated, the devil is in the details; if
people want to put up roadblocks they will and they won't find their way around them. When
doing a cursory read of the legislation, most people become infatuated with the concept of
retention and want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. In addition, school districts fixate
on the amount of paperwork that will be required if students are identified as having a deficit in a
particular area of reading or do not pass the third-grade English Language Arts portion of the M-
STEP. But what if there werent so many children lagging behind? What if there was a way to
combat this legislation? As many districts work to iron out the logistics and prepare to implement
this new, rich, and complex legislation, they must read between the lines to fully understand the
potential of the Third-Grade Reading law.

The devil truly is in the details, however, not the details of the law, but rather the details of
instruction. If we are to eliminate the K-3 literacy deficit and boost student achievement, we
must place a laser-like focus on early literacy instructional practices. The focus must shift from
what we do when children dont perform (interventions), to how do we ensure all students
experience success with core instruction. K-3 teachers must be provided intensive, job-
embedded professional development experiences focused on high-quality, evidence-based,
instructional practices. A 2007 study found that teachers who received an average of 49 hours
of professional development on a specific content were able to boost their student's
achievement by about 21 percentiles. However, we can't just stop there, teachers must be
supported in their journey by trained and skilled instructional coaches. Many studies have been
done around professional development and coaching, and the evidence is overwhelmingly
positive. A 2005 study in Chicago found that were literacy coaches were in place and the main
role of the coach was to support teachers through professional development and applying their
learning, schools experienced a 25% increase in student achievement over three years.
Organizations across Michigan, including the MDE and Michigan Association of Intermediate
School Administrators General Education Leadership Network (MAISA GELN), have assembled
teams to begin developing an infrastructure to support a coaching and targeted professional
development model. The MAISA GELN Early Literacy taskforce, a combination of researchers
and educators, has produced several nationally recognized guiding documents to help districts,
teachers, and coaches focus their efforts. The combined efforts these two organizations
provide the foundational information needed by districts to jumpstart their endeavors in a literacy
coaching and targeted professional development.

I urge educators not to allow the requirements of new legislation to outshine the real message
hidden deep within the complicated language. When viewed from the inside out, the legislation
points directly to core instructional literacy practices; the first and most critical step to improving
literacy outcomes for children. Districts must come to realize the opportunities literacy coaching
and targeted professional development provide for teachers and students and leverage the work
and expertise around Michigan to bring this model to fruition locally. Given the opportunity to
hone their skills in a risk-friendly and supportive environment, teachers will shine and children
will reach new levels of success.