Response to Mills College at Northeastern Undermining Students’ Civil Right to Read
Here in Oakland, we know what’s at stake when it comes to education—our children’s futures depend upon it. Too often, however, powerful institutions insert themselves where they aren’t needed, driven by misguided theories and oblivious to their disconnect from the very communities they claim to serve. This time, it’s Northeastern University using the legacy of Mills College to drive debunked methods that undermine students’ civil right to read.
Our country is in crisis: two-thirds of U.S. students aren’t reading at grade level, and illiteracy is as high as 95% in districts where parents lack the resources for private tutoring. We’re fighting a systemic, uphill battle, and there’s no end in sight so long as teacher preparation programs persist in arming new educators with literacy instruction methods that simply don’t work for most children. Northeastern’s 2022 merger with Mills College turned a legacy institution into a vehicle for ongoing community trauma and disenfranchisement, setting generations of children up for failure for years to come. Once a trusted ally in the fight for social justice, Mills is being used to advance practices that go against science. Adding salt to the wound, Northeastern recently unveiled plans to provide scholarships for Oakland students to attend college for free, a move that feels as much like a pacifier as it does a gift.
