[Rebecca Rodriguez]

Members of the school board and superintendent, 

 

It has been brought to my attention that the strategic plan for the district will be revised soon. After reading through our current plan I was drawn to this commitment statement, "All students will attain skills, knowledge and abilities to succeed in 21st century society."

Students can only attain skills, which will enable them to succeed in the 21st Century, if they are able to master one thing and that is Literacy. I am asking the school board to please focus on Literacy for their strategic plan. As a parent of a child who has dyslexia, it is imperative that all students are taught to read and write. Dyslexia is so common in our world that 1 in 5 people have it.  For those 1 in 5 students, learning to become literate takes a village. Not only do they need explicit, multisensory instruction; they also need advocates in their corner. These advocates push for  all students to learn to read and write using structured literacy practices. 

Focusing on literacy will enable all students to succeed. But this can only be done if we as a community and school district prioritize the best practices for teaching reading. All students have the right to become literate. We must give every student the opportunity to succeed in life and that means we as a district have to focus on literacy. Students who are identified early and are given structured literacy in the classroom  succeed in life.  

I am asking this school board to take a stand to support literacy and special education by adding them to the strategic plan as a priority.

 

I am also asking this school board to fund professional development that focuses on the implementation of structured literacy, as well as to improve on our district’s ability to formally identify dyslexia especially in Kindergarten and 1st grade. 

 

Please stand for literacy, for our dyslexic students, and for students with disabilities.

 

Respectfully,

Becca Rodriguez