Milwaukee Public Schools leaders and teachers are on a mission to turn around low literacy rates.
They’ve launched a district-wide literacy plan and selected a teacher training program used across the country. They’ve added four early-release days and three professional development days to this year’s calendar, which will be used to train teachers in literacy instruction.
Gabriela Bell Jiménez, the academic superintendent for literacy at MPS, is leading that charge. She came to the school district in July from the Madison Metropolitan School District.
“If we have 13 years with students, regardless of where they are, there is something that we can do with the days that we have in an academic calendar to ensure that they have access to [phonics-based reading instruction]," she says. "Because at the end of the day, we do genuinely want for every one of our students what we want for our own children."
Low literacy in Milwaukee isn't caused by one single factor, advocates say
There are a lot of reasons that students can struggle to read, literacy experts like Bell-Jiménez say.
If students fall behind early on, it’s hard to catch up.
If families face evictions or unreliable transportation, it’s difficult for students to get to school to begin with. A student who is hungry may not be able to focus in class. A student whose family has mixed immigration statuses could be under stress as the Trump administration mounts immigration raids.
But MPS leaders say their literacy plan is focusing on what they can control.
What they can control is how they’re teaching kids to read. The district’s plan includes a training program for teachers called LETRS. It’s an intensive and expensive training program that can take up to 160 hours to complete over two years. As of 2022, nearly half of U.S. states had used the program for statewide training.
Will it work in Milwaukee?
Elizabeth Birr Moje is the dean of the Marshall Family School of Education at the University of Michigan. She emphasizes that the earlier literacy education starts, the more likely students are to pick it up. But she cautions against relying on one specific program.
“But we need to do so much more to better understand why are children not able to address the test questions with proficiency and not rush to a particular program," Moje says.
“LETRS and all the other programs are not going to solve the problem for every child," she adds. "For one thing, LETRS does not actually have any child-facing work. It's all about teacher development. Today, the link between what teachers have learned through something like LETRS and child outcomes is not well established."
Different approach to teacher training helped Mississippi's schools rebound on reading rates
Still, so many states have taken up LETRS. And that’s in part because of what happened in Mississippi in 2014.
In 2013, the state ranked nearly last in reading scores, so it adopted the LETRS teacher training program. Unlike Milwaukee's plan, Mississippi also mandated a third grade retention policy for students who didn't pass an end-of-grade reading test.
By 2019, Mississippi had ranked number one in the country for closing reading gaps. Last year, the state's fourth graders ranked above the national average in proficient reading scores on national assessments.
Last school year, 85% percent of third graders passed their end of grade reading assessment. In the same year, more than half of MPS students scored below the 25th percentile in their end of grade reading assessments.
The successful turnaround was dubbed “The Mississippi Miracle.” States like North Carolina quickly moved to follow in its footsteps.
In Milwaukee, students today face similar levels of poverty to Mississippi students in 2013. Like Mississippi’s cities, our city has been fractured by white flight and school choice.
But MPS leaders hope we can learn from Mississippi and North Carolina’s success.
Jennifer Mims-Howell, the chief academic officer for Milwaukee Public Schools, said parents and students should expect big changes to their reading education in the coming years.
“Things are going to change at their child's school," she says, talking about parents. "We have been getting concerns from constituents about things that are happening in the schools that look a little bit different. We need a little bit of grace right now… We want to make sure that the culture and climate and the environment is set for learning so that our kids have an opportunity to learn.”
Next, we’ll see whether the changes take root.
This story is part of WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal's series, Turning the Page: Teaching Milwaukee to Read. Here are the other stories in the series:
- 73% of MPS fourth graders can't read at a basic level. What will it take to fix that?
- These tutors help MPS students jump multiple grade levels in reading. How does it work?
- Teaching Milwaukee adults to read: How free programs can get parents back on track
Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Are you helping your child learn to read or do you have questions about literacy in Milwaukee? You can reach Katherine at kokal@uwm.edu.
