Some districts — particularly in more affluent communities where high test scores offer little motivation to change — continue to use programs criticized by science-of-reading advocates.
We have seen success in the classroom with what teachers are using,” Ashwina Mosakowski, the district’s director of elementary teaching, learning, and innovation, told the school board in January, explaining why the district continues to use Units of Study — a reading program that experts say is deeply flawed.
‘A disservice to all students’
At a school board meeting in April, Mosakowski told the board, “We have adopted the science of reading.”
The reading curriculum has been a recurring topic of debate at school board meetings this year. Mosakowski has acknowledged gaps in the Units of Study program, noting that Wallingford-Swarthmore teachers have made “so many modifications” since it was adopted 10 years ago. She told the board in January the district recognized that more changes were needed, and has since piloted a number of programs to add instruction in word study to the curriculum.
But parents such as Mead say the district is clinging to elements of an outdated approach.
“I’m just kind of outraged by the injustice of it,” said Mead, who has two children in elementary school in Wallingford-Swarthmore. In an affluent district such as hers, many families can afford to hire tutors, masking how many kids might be struggling. But those who can’t fall further behind — “that opportunity gap,” she said.
