Experts say poor curriculum, short school year, lack of training contribute to Salem students’ poor reading
A local elementary school teacher stirred emotions and nostalgia among the Elsinore Theatre’s audience during a Town Hall on reading.
Jessica DeFrancisco, who teaches third grade at Sumpter Elementary School, spoke with emotion about a student she watched improve.
“Just a few weeks ago, she came up to me and she brings a book to me that is a larger book than I’ve ever seen her pick up, and she goes, ‘Oh my gosh Mrs.…
5 Comments
Comments are closed.
I’ve got to say that I started reading this article with the notion that it was going to divulge into the Salem Keizer teachers just saying they’re going to put more money into something without actually talking about what it actually does or how it works. As always, they create a money pit and they don’t talk about the actual ways they are going to implement this. They talk about all of the problems, but they don’t talk about any actual ideas of how to solve them.
After years of failure, Oregon finally admits the reading crisis wasn’t caused by kids, parents, or effort — it was caused by inconsistent curriculum, inadequate training, and abandoning evidence-based instruction. That’s not progress. That’s a confession. Students lost years while adults experimented, drifted, and delayed. Now we’re told to applaud a return to basics. Fixing the damage matters — but pretending this just “happened” is how it happens again.
These discussions from education “experts” are infuriating. We have known, scientifically, since the 1950s that phonics is the best way to teach reading. But here we are in 2026 allocating $11 million to implement a pilot program for more curriculum testing to see “what works.”
Why is the word “phonics” not mentioned in this discussion? Why do 1700 educators with masters degrees in teaching need to attend additional training to teach kids how to read? Why is a single dollar going to support state teacher training programs that receive an “F” in training teachers to teach reading?
It’s absolute nonsense and there is no excuse anymore for it. Parents and taxpayers should not continue to pay and pay through the nose for what is essentially warehousing children during what should be the most productive learning period of their lives.
Secondly, the policies that keep the few behaviorally challenged children in the classrooms, preventing the majority of students from learning, have got to go. Disruptive kids need to be removed from the classroom and provided with alternative support. It is simply not acceptable to allow bad behavior to prevent kids from learning.
Oregon’s education system is a disaster for these kids’ futures, and the future of Oregon. This ship needs to turn around, and fast.
Back in the 80’s Salem Keizer introduced a program called “Reading is Fundamental” inaugurated through the Curriculum Department’s Jan Lambert and Gay Masters. That program proved successful not only because it was supported by administrators and staff but also because parents were involved. Today’s parents are not involved nor do many of them have reading skills to help their children.
Check the level of success back the and compare it to the challenges faced today. Many Children today are not engaged with the learning skills taught back then. Teach phonics and find an interest that each student likes. We used to use HS peer students to help. Why not try something that worked back then?
Many parents are not as involved as they used to be because quite frankly the public schools have squeezed them out, openly declaring that they know best how to educate children. Superintendent Castenada and school admin’s, if you want shared responsibility, then give parents a real voice at the table. 1.- Take away the dual portal to schoolwork. Parents and children should share access to school homework and teacher communication for cooperation and transparency’s sake. 2.- All reading and written assignments should be posted online. Anything or anyone that cannot/will not operate out in the open should not be involved with children. 3.- Listen to parents, allow real dialogue at school board meetings. Right now half of the community is not represented because the Democratic Socialists have created a super quorum so that they don’t even have to acknowledge the members that do not align with their radical agenda or include them in discussions or decisions. It is not the American way and has stripped Salem Keizer of their legal right to have representation and local control of schools. 4.- We are not willing to spend one more dime until every shred of the Transformative Social Emotional Learning and Equity policies are gone. If anyone wonders what is wrong with them, or what I am talking about, please look up The Oregon Project, by Rob Schlapfer. He explains everything. Parents, you have a way out. Find some friends and homeschool together for less than 2 hours a day. There is a lot of support out there. Your kids don’t have time to wait.