Tag Archives: racist

Reading Horizons: A curriculum “even a janitor” could teach

Sarah Lahm

August 27, 2015

Stay with me. In early August, several Minneapolis teachers contacted me about an early literacy training session they had been to. What happened there shocked and offended many of them. I am happy to help tell their stories, which I decided to do in a series of blog posts. The stories center on two teachers–one white, one a teacher of color–and their reactions to the religiously tinged, “Common Core” ready, and all-around offensive training they attended. The teacher of color does not feel comfortable using her real name. Instead, I refer to her as Roxanne Berger.

Read Part One: Outsider’s imprint here.

Read Part Two: Why teachers of color leave here.

Context and background

One Asian character in 54 books
The sole Asian character in all 54 books. No Latino students were featured, as far as I know.

Emerging details show that, in July, Minneapolis school board members approved the district’s contract with the Utah-based company Reading Horizons. The contract is worth $1.2 million and is coated in promises that must have been tough to refuse, for a district desperate to close the “achievement gap,” boost test scores, and set all students on a path to success. 

If, the contract approval document declares, MPS buys the million dollar program, and if MPS teachers implement the Reading Horizons curriculum with “fidelity,” then this will happen:

All MPS students will demonstrate higher levels of reading skill in grades K-3. Achievement gaps between white students and students of color will narrow across all grades. MCA reading scores in grades 3-10 will increase over time, presuming implementation of the Reading Horizons program with fidelity.

But it turns out that Reading Horizons has an overtly religious public profile, and, another reader has pointed out, many of the company’s board of directors (all white men) appear to have connections with Mormon-based Brigham Young University.

Most troubling, however, has been the news that the classroom books Reading Horizons had prepared–and attempted to make “diverse,” at MPS’s request–were deeply offensive, and loaded with racist, sexist, narrow images and stories. (Please refer to Part One and Two above for further details about this.)

Teachers also report that the training itself was problematic, as it was led by a Reading Horizons employee who has asked not to be named. Her company profile, however, includes language that might raise some red flags, including these statements:

Now that I am a Reading Horizons trainer, it has become my mission to help transform teachers into reading specialists. I give them the tools to “save” the students I couldn’t.

Roxanne Berger, the teacher of color who asked not to be publicly named, wrote down nearly everything this employee said during the two-day, early August training session she attended. Here is some of what she shared with the teachers, according to Berger’s notes:

“I have a passion for poverty culture”

“They say you can’t stay in high poverty spaces for more than 5 years or else you’ll burn out. Well I’ll tell you what, I stayed for 7 years.”

“I was ready to quit. My empathy for people in poverty started to decline.”

RH Kings
All kings are white men. There is one prince and one princess who are not white.

Read the company’s July 23, 2015 press release, announcing its new contract with MPS. 

Part Three: Money for what?

As the Reading Horizons training scandal broke in early August, emails sent among Minneapolis staffers reveal efforts to try to explain why the district entered into a contract with Reading Horizons in the first place.

It is clear that a continuous lack of adequate classroom resources factored into the decision.

Teachers and staff report choosing Reading Horizons because at least the curriculum did come with some companion books for kids. Other programs were only technology based, which did not seem appropriate. Plus, the emails say, district teachers have been repeatedly asking for money to build up their classroom libraries, only to be told no.

In fact, one teacher has said–behind the scenes–that this is the third time in 10 years that MPS teachers have had a district-selected early literacy curriculum pushed on them, without adequate companion books for classroom use. 

And so going with Reading Horizons seemed like a good option because it would bring books into the classroom, even if they are a little “problematic.”

MPS communications associate Dirk Tedmon further defended the contract with Reading Horizons, from a different angle, by minimizing the “Little Books” and highlighting the quality of the company’s work.

“The Reading Horizons training was very expensive and very thorough,” Tedmon explained, and about much more than the accompanying set of books for children to read. “They are even called ‘Little Books’ because they are such a little part of the training,” he asserted.

The contract with Reading Horizons which is, again, worth $1.2 million, includes follow-up coaching services–to be done from afar, as the company is based in Salt Lake City and its trainers are not local.

Six-year-old Lucy, who lives somewhere in Africa, is “lazy.”

But, given what she has seen so far, Berger is not seeing the value: “It baffles my mind to think of the money the Minneapolis Public Schools spent on this.”

Especially when, many teachers say, the district’s Teaching and Learning department has been decimated by recent layoffs, not to mention an abrupt 2011 reshuffling that saw nearly all department staff “released” from their positions.

Former Teach for America member Mike Lynch then came from a job with McKinsey and Company (global business consultants) to head up MPS’s new “Teaching and Learning” department. His primary job was to oversee the implementation of a more explicit teaching program called “Focused Instruction.” 

Lynch is now gone, and the future doesn’t look bright for Focused Instruction, either. Some teachers are reporting that, when they try to access Focused Instruction online, they are being met with a big STOP sign, cautioning them that Focused Instruction is not adequately aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

Hence, the need to purchase a new early literacy curriculum arose.

So scripted “even a janitor” could use it

Mandy Perna, an Armatage Montessori teacher who attended the training with Berger, also noted that the Reading Horizons approach–beyond the offensive “Little Books”–struck her as odd: “The company’s ‘Implementation Coach’ kept emphasizing how scripted their curriculum is, saying things like, ‘isn’t it so great? It’s so scripted even a janitor could use it!”

Berger, too, found the scripted nature of Reading Horizons’ work “a little excessive.” It’s built around a carefully sequenced method of teaching, where students would be given concrete lessons in decoding and reading, and then be given a “Little Book” to read that would match their own reading level.

And those reading levels are to be determined by a computerized diagnostic test for the 5, 6, and 7 year olds in the district. Berger says a Reading Horizon rep told teachers that she herself had taken the test, and that it took her 45 minutes to complete it.

“I wonder how long it would take my kids to finish it, then” Berger wondered incredulously.

All of this is taking place within a national push for teachers to be held accountable for the test scores of their students, with an additional emphasis on controlling what happens in the classroom. Teaching explicit, sequenced lessons might have some value, especially for new teachers, says Perna, but it doesn’t reflect what she does in the classroom.

“Reading Horizons seems like a one size fits all approach, and I wonder about the kids who don’t need these lessons. I have first graders who are reading Harry Potter books. Will there be behavior problems, if they are supposed to sit through this?”

Continued pressure from teachers

By August 12, district employee Amy Jones had sent a more thorough email to K-2 teachers, giving them explicit instructions for how to return the offending  “Little Books” so that Reading Horizons can redesign them.

Noting that the Minneapolis Public Schools “will be seeking teacher input on the redesign,” Jones’s email makes it clear that, at this point, the district has no intention to cut ties with Reading Horizons. Instead, the email indicates that the books will be revised, with staff input, for use during the 2016-2017 school year, with no indication of what books teachers will be using this year.

But Berger is left with more questions than answers. She says she was told that the other reading curriculum vendors were “worse” than Reading Horizons. “Am I supposed to feel better about this?” she asked. “Do we continue to settle because it’s our ‘best option’?”

“Who looked at the books? Who was given a choice about this? If the problem will be blamed on Reading Horizons, then we should sever our relationship with them.”

The story is still evolving. Please stay tuned for MPS’s recent response to this story, as well as further input from teachers.

Cashing in on the “achievement gap”: Reading Horizons contract with Minneapolis reportedly worth $1.2 million

Sarah Lahm

August 26, 2015

Stay with me. In early August, several Minneapolis teachers contacted me about an early literacy training session they had been to. What happened there shocked and offended many of them. I am happy to help tell their stories, which I decided to do in a series of blog posts. The stories center on two teachers–one white, one a teacher of color–and their reactions to the religiously tinged, “Common Core” ready, and all-around offensive training they attended. The teacher of color does not feel comfortable using her real name.  Instead, I refer to her as Roxanne Berger.

Read Part One: Outsider’s imprint here.

Kenyans can run
Everybody knows Kenyans are good runners…

Background and further details: Reading Horizons cashes in on the “achievement gap” 

The teachers attended a two-day training in early August, sponsored by the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and hosted by a Utah-based company called Reading Horizons. The training was intended to get teachers up to speed on the new, Common Core-ready early literacy curriculum that MPS purchased from Reading Horizons for the district’s K-2 teachers.

But many teachers reported feeling angry and deeply offended not only by the shockingly dated, racist, and problematic early reader books that were created and distributed by Reading Horizons, but also by the training itself.

Yesterday, I reported that the contract Reading Horizons has with MPS is worth around $500,000. (I have requested a copy of the contract–which is a matter of public record–but have yet to receive it). However, last night on Facebook, a reader shared a district document that shows the contract is actually worth an incredible $1.2 million, paid for with referendum funds.

The “Deliverables” promised by Reading Horizons are telling (spelling error/typo is not mine):

All MPS studenst will demonstrate higher levels of reading skill in grades K-3. Achievement gaps between white students and students of color will narrow across all grades. MCA reading scores in grades 3-10 will increase over time, presuming implementation of the Reading Horizons program with fidelity.

If MPS implements the Reading Horizons program–at a cost of 1.2 million dollars–then test scores will increase. Quite a sales tactic, no?

Gilda
“She was always in a good mood.”

Also, it is interesting to see that Reading Horizons is promising to “narrow” the “achievement gap” between white students and students of color–with the help of “Little Reader” books that have struck teachers and the general public as incredibly racist, sexist, and oppressive. Also, the books seem to have a colonizing, missionary vibe to them, which may be no accident, given Reading Horizons public profile (read on for more details). 

Read Part One: Outsider’s imprint here.

Part Two: Why teachers of color leave

Roxanne Berger–the teacher of color who did not want her real name used–says she walked out of the training after explaining how cutting and awful the Little Books seemed, only to collapse in the hallway, under the weight of the books and the lack of support she felt from her peers.  

Mandy 2015
Mandy Perna

Mandy Perna (this is her real name) is a first and second grade teacher at Armatage Montessori School in southwest Minneapolis and was seated with Berger at the Reading Horizons training. While Berger says she felt alone in her visceral reaction to the Reading Horizon books, Perna says many teachers immediately found the Little Books problematic, but didn’t speak up right away. 

Partly, Perna says, this was because a Minneapolis Public Schools employee–whose name she is not sure of–defended the books during the training, saying they were designed to make decoding words easier for kids.

Later, however, both Perna and Berger say they, along with other teachers, fired off emails to the district, only to be met with a gruff response.

“We were told, curtly, that if we didn’t like the books, we certainly didn’t have to use them,” says Perna.

An email from MPS that was sent to all teachers on Sunday, August 9th confirms this. The email was sent on behalf of Amy Jones, Director of Elementary Education for the district, and offers a terse look at the Reading Horizons uproar:

From: Amy Jones 
Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2015 7:10 PM
To: (name removed for privacy)
Subject: Reading Horizons little books

K-2 Teachers:

We have identified some issues with a small number of books from the Reading Horizons Little Books library.

We will collect the books from you and return them to Reading Horizons for redesign. We will be in touch with exact titles and the process for you to follow.

When the redesign is complete the books will be distributed to you.  We are working closely with Reading Horizons on this resolution.

Please keep in mind you can teach the program without all the little books so implementation can move forward as planned.

We appreciate your feedback and concerns and thank you for your patience.

Thank you.

“The feeling we got,” says Perna, “was that they don’t really care.”

The issue also raised the alarm of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers president Lynn Nordgren, who sent an email to teachers outlining the union’s response:

From: on behalf of Lynn Nordgren
Sent: Saturday, August 08, 2015 2:55 PM
To: All MPS teachers
Subject: New K-2 Reading Horizons books

It has come to MFT’s attention that there are issues with new K-2 reading books.  This summer, teachers who attended staff development on the new reading program found some pictures and stories in the books to be historically/socially/racially inaccurate and/or inappropriate.  Once I learned about this, I immediately contacted the Superintendent as well as the Chief Academic Officer, and the heads of MPS Staff Development, Teaching and Learning, Office of Equity and Diversity, and several other departments.  The CAO assured me they are looking into it and speaking with the company as well.

Still, says Berger, teachers were told by the district to “assume best intentions” on the part of Reading Horizons and the reading curriculum they created.

District Response: “It is not our place to judge them”

Gail Plewacki is the Minneapolis Public Schools new Communications Director, and in a phone conversation, she, along with new Communications Associate Dirk Tedmon, confirmed that Reading Horizons would be given a chance to redo the books.

“They are accessory books that come along with the curriculum, and we understand there are some issues with the books,” Plewacki said. “We are working with the publisher to revise the materials.”

Plewacki downplayed the books, and said a team that included up to 60 teachers had selected Reading Horizons because they are “known for their accomplishments in literacy.”

“They have a strong core program in places like Louisiana and Tennessee,” Plewacki said.

But a look at the company’s website reveals another thorny issue: there appears to be a strong religious aspect to Reading Horizons’ public profile. A section called “Core Values” squarely putsFaith,” and a Christian faith, at the center of Reading Horizons’ work, with a tagline that states, “We believe in a higher purpose to life. We seek to do His will and to achieve balance in our lives.”

When asked whether or not it was appropriate for a public school district to be purchasing products from an overtly religious company,  Tedmon seemed surprised: “It’s not our place to judge them, as long as they don’t disseminate the values through their products.”

And, Plewacki insisted, “the books are being revised, and they are a very, very small part of the whole program.”

Kenya clothes
People in Kenya make clothes for people in the U.S.

Berger, however, is not satisfied with this line of reasoning. Not only does she believe that the choice of Reading Horizons’ curriculum is an “example of how and why lies, stereotypes, and oppressive ideologies are continued,” but it touches something deeper for her.

“This whole situation is an example of why students and teachers of color leave education, or feel unsuccessful and un-represented.The fact that the issue is being minimized/diminished  affirms that this is not a safe space for us.”  

Read Part 3: “So scripted even a janitor could teach it” here

Please consider donating to keep this blog rolling! Your support is crucial and much appreciated.

[Exq_ppd_form]