Plan to Cut Middle School Reading Classes Vetted in Packed Hearing

Educators, parents and students have made known their feelings about a Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) plan to cut middle school reading classes, and the Board of Education will make a final decision in less than two weeks.

At a public hearing on Thursday, nearly 30 citizens spoke out against a proposal that calls for the addition of physical education instruction time, the addition of world languages to the sixth-grade curriculum and the elimination of standalone reading classes.

According to Paul Lemle, president of the Howard County Education Association (HCEA), at least 65 HCEA members attended to support those who signed up to speak at the Jan. 12 hearing.

Lemle said his organization, which represents HCPSS teachers and education support staff, is against the proposal as it currently stands but is willing to work with school leaders to create a plan acceptable to more people.

"No one in HCEA's leadership has been approached at any time for advice or assistance with how the proposed changes to the middle school program might work," he said. "And we have offered many times to help."

So HCEA members took the public hearing as the opportunity to offer input.

"It was a really good meeting," said school board chairwoman Sandra French in an interview on Friday. "All of our teachers were so eloquent, articulate and reasoned; I'm just really proud to have them in our system."

The time teachers have to create articulate and reasoned presentations, however, may be in jeopardy.

Under the proposal, Lemle said that teachers would lose vitally important planning time because they are being told to teach six periods a day instead of five.

Their contract protects planning time, which is a term and condition of employment, Lemle said.

"I'm very interested in knowing what has changed so that some middle school world language teachers just don't get that term and condition of employment," he said.

While many have voiced opposition to the proposed changes, French said the school board has received other supportive correspondences.

"We as a board have to make the best decision based upon the state and federal mandates and grants," French said. "How do we best position the children for future success while adhering to the Race to the Top mandates?"

Race to the Top is President Barack Obama's competitive education reform program that includes federal money for the states selected to participate. Twelve jurisdictions—including Maryland—will share in a pot of money to implement reform in public education. Maryland will receive $250 million.

Maryland is also one of more than 40 states to sign on to implement the Common Core State Standards, which ensures continuity of college and career-readiness education from state to state.

The imminent implementation of Common Core is what makes middle school changes "imperative," according to the staff report presented to the school board, which stated that HCPSS must fully transition to the Maryland Common Core State Curriculum by the 2013-2014 school year.

Leslie Kornreich, a and former Spanish teacher, said she believes it's important to save the integrity of the reading instruction program and is concerned that, a few years down the road, school officials will realize a mistake was made.

But those students affected by the "mistake" will never get those years back, she said.

"I started off my comments by encouraging the board to preserve the standalone reading classes," Kornreich said. "Getting rid of those classes moves us toward a one-size-fits-all education system, and we shouldn't be doing that."

All middle school students, from the struggling readers who need a little extra help to the advanced readers who need to be challenged, benefit from the reading classes as they now exist, Kornreich said.

Kornreich said she believes that changes do have to be made to the middle school program to implement Commore Core requirements and to get world languages into sixth grade—which she favors.

"But this comes down to a major proposal being created without all of the stakeholders having the chance to participate," she said. "This was not properly vetted, for the sweeping changes they are proposing."

Noting all the opposition to the proposal, Kornreich said she would be "stunned and disappointed if the board just went ahead and passed this proposal in its current form."

French said much has to be taken into consideration when the board makes its final decision.

"Each board member will weigh very carefully all of the testimony and documentation during our work session Jan. 19," French said. "We will not make a decision that night; that session will be an investigation for understanding."

The board is scheduled to take action on the proposal at its Jan. 26 meeting.