October 2024:  

The MLO Minute: “Attention! Attention! Part 1: A ‘New’ English Curriculum in Philadelphia Public Schools — What Parents Need to Know”

By Kimberly Caputo, Esq., Senior Counsel, Special Education Philadelphia Region — 

English Language Arts “ELA” is a daily class for Philadelphia students.  For many students, this daily period should/could be the time when learning to read is happening. Many students spend as much as one hundred twenty (120) minutes (two hours) per day in ELA.

 

With the 2024-2025 school year, the School District of Philadelphia (“SDP”) is introducing a new ELA curriculum. This curriculum is based on the “Science of Reading,” (“SOR”).

 

Parents, the SOR specifically addresses five (5) building blocks of reading:

1. 1. Phonemic awareness;
   2. Phonics;
   3. Fluency;
   4. Vocabulary; and
   5. Comprehension

 

Hopefully, this curriculum, paired with appropriate training, adequate materials, and on-going coaching and data review, will have an impact on the large number of students who are not reading on grade level – a group of approximately 66%.

 

As parent/teacher conferences are approaching, this is a good time to ask your child’s teacher:

1. 1. What is happening for my child during the ELA block?
   2. Is my child reading on grade level?
   3. How is my child doing in each of the (5) reading building blocks?

 

Please look for future MLO updates and guidance tools on the SCIENCE OF READING.

 

Also, please join McAndrews Law Offices’ special education team for a FREE WEBINAR on “Special Education 101 & Back-To-School Issues: Understanding the Report Card and Preparing for a Parent Teacher Conference” on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024, at 6:30 pm. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

 

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s school experience, please reach out. We are here to help and to empower parents on the educational journey.