Removing a discredited reading and writing curriculum from administrator consideration “goes beyond our responsibility” and “would be interfering with the work.”
Those were claims made by four River Forest District 90 school board members who ignored district policy and abdicated responsibility to distance themselves from years of staunch support.
The Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum has been blamed for national declines in student reading because, as American Public Media reports, it relies on an incorrect theory of how children learn to read.
EdWeek reported on September 1, 2023, Columbia University Teachers College would “dissolve the program” after mounting evidence of long-term failure. River Forest adopted a “Balanced Literacy” approach to reading which included adopting the Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum.
It was school board member Kathrine Mackey converting on an April 2023 campaign promise that made a motion early during the Tuesday, Sept. 5 board meeting to “remove consideration of the Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum” from an upcoming review. Mackey referenced Illinois SB2243 saying “the aim of the bill is to stop what we have today’ [Lucy Calkins Units of Study].”
Board member Nicole Thompson responded, cautioning removing the curriculum from consideration might “get into a situation where we’re interfering with the work that the professionals are doing.”
Board member Katie Avalos said the motion to exclude the failed curriculum “undercuts the relationship between the board and the administration.”
Sarah Eckmann added “telling teachers that they can or cannot do something is not our job”.
Board president Stacey Williams shared a similar sentiment saying the move is “taking agency” away from teachers and “we have to trust them”.
A public documents request shows these D90 board members approved spending over three hundred thousand dollars on the Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum between 2019 and 2022 in addition to promoting the curriculum director after academic decline.
After hearing arguments favoring the curriculum and describing board member responsibility, Eric Isenberg, Policy Chairman for district 90, reminded members “our board policy says that the board of education is responsible for approving all curriculum that is used in the district.”
Isenberg added, “the community has been very clear they want to move beyond Units of Study.”
The three votes favoring removal came from winners of the April 2023 election including Joe Cortese, Eric Isenberg and Kathrine Mackey.
The motion failed to pass, four votes to three.
Illinois State Board of Education reports River Forest District 90 students fall in the 56th percentile for the state in English Language Arts growth, and 38% are not proficient in reading or writing.
