Teach Plus is committed to ensuring all students in the commonwealth graduate with the literacy skills they need in order to have successful lives
Boston, Massachusetts, September 27, 2024—Teach Plus Massachusetts issued the following statement following the release of last spring’s Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores.
“Teach Plus and Teach Plus teacher leaders across the commonwealth are deeply concerned about the continued decline in the MCAS English language arts scores across all grade levels. With a 3 percentage point drop for grades 3-8, and a 1 point drop for grade 10, it is clear that the state’s literacy crisis shows no sign of abating.
“We as a state must make sure that every student in Massachusetts has the literacy skills they need to be successful academically and in their life and careers. Teach Plus is committed to working alongside educators, partners, and systems leaders to solve the literacy crisis.” said Chris Marino, Teach Plus Massachusetts Executive Director. “Teach Plus is pursuing a three-fold strategy that includes improving communication with parents and families about literacy, researching best-in-class, evidence-based instructional strategies for our educators to be able to teach literacy using high-quality, all-inclusive curriculum, and advocating for smart literacy policies at the state level to bring about systemic change.”
Teach Plus teacher leaders have delivered testimony in support of legislation that would ensure high-quality, comprehensive literacy instruction in all Massachusetts schools by requiring districts to use the science of reading research when choosing a curriculum, as well as assessing students’ literacy skills. The current bill, H.4423, did not pass and Teach Plus is advocating for a new version to be introduced in the next legislative session. Teach Plus has advocated for how dollars will be spent on Gov. Healey’s Literacy Launch proposal, with an annual investment of $30 million over five years, which would similarly address the use of research and evidence-based curricula, as well as necessary teacher training and support. Teach Plus also plays an active role in the Massachusetts Literacy Coalition, which is working to address the literacy crisis facing Massachusetts’ students.
“Every student who sits in our classrooms deserves the right to learn how to read. Our students thrive when school staff—all school staff—feel prepared. In order for this to happen, we must have consistent and research-based learning around the teaching of literacy. And we need to partner with families and ensure they have the same knowledge because they are the children’s first teachers,” said Jennifer Amento, Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow and 2nd grade teacher at Kenneth C. Coombs School in Mashpee who recently testified before the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education about the need for educator professional learning around literacy.
Teach Plus and Teach Plus teacher leaders look forward to working with students, teachers, parents, community members, and policy makers to make literacy a reality for every student in the state, and to ensure that Massachusetts is again number one when it comes to education.
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. In pursuing our mission, Teach Plus is guided by our Student Opportunity Mandate: All students should have the opportunity to achieve their potential in an education system defined by its commitment to equity, its responsiveness to individual needs, and its ability to prepare students for postsecondary success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. teachplus.org/ma/
