Despite federal assurances of accessible and appropriate public education for all students with disabilities, many dyslexic children and their families find themselves entangled in battles for suitable instruction. A recent investigation by The Boston Globe revealed some of the hurdles faced by dyslexic students and their parents in Massachusetts, including in Lexington.
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, impacting nearly 1 in 5 children. Dyslexia can be managed with extensive instructional interventions, especially if administered early. But many parents in Lexington say that they had to fight — and sometimes pay massive amounts for private evaluations and legal fees – before their children received necessary services.
On top of the difficulties in identifying the problem and qualifying for services, some parents complain that Lexington’s schools set kids up for a struggle by employing outdated methods of teaching reading in the early grades, including some programs that the state considers “low quality.”
In January, Gov. Maura Healey announced a $30 million investment in literacy instruction. Earlier this month, MA lawmakers advanced a bill, S.263/H.579 —An Act promoting high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction in all Massachusetts schools, that, if passed, would require elementary schools to choose from a list of high-quality, evidence-based curriculums provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The department would also provide professional training on literacy intervention at no cost to the individual districts.
Many Lexington educators oppose the bill. A letter to Gov. Healey, signed by more than 300 teachers and administrators, warns against a “one-size-fits-all approach to literacy instruction.”
Lexington Public Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett and nearly 70 other Lexington educators, including principals, literacy specialists, special education teachers and Lexington Education Association leaders, are all signatories.
“Teachers need various strategies to do what is best for the students in front of them, and there is no proven curriculum that addresses the needs of every child,” the letter says.
The letter links to a document called The Four Fallacies of the “New Reading Wars,” referring to a debate that has been playing out over the past several years on how reading is taught in elementary schools. The debate centers on the relative effectiveness of teaching phonics vs. what is sometimes called “balanced literacy” — an approach popularized in the 1990s that focuses more on story and meaning but has recently come into question.
The Four Fallacies document suggests that the reality is more complex and nuanced than the popular understanding, that classrooms currently employ a plethora of tools, including both phonics and comprehension skills, and that the science of what works in literacy education is far from settled.
Many Lexington parents with dyslexia children are advocating in favor of the bill. Nicole Diggins Locher, co-founder of the Dyslexia Parents Group, says the bill is “intended as a safeguard to protect us, the consumers, by ensuring that the curriculum that each school district chooses to purchase with our taxpayer funds meets evidence-based standards.”
“Implementing a higher quality, comprehensive core elementary reading curriculum that is better aligned with the science of how children learn how to read will give all students the direct, explicit instructional time required to master their foundational literacy skills, especially children who struggle to read and who may be at risk of dyslexia,” Diggins Locher says.
The educators say they support many aspects of the proposed legislation, including universal screening for dyslexia (which is already required by the state), and evidence-based interventions.
Sara Calleja, Department Head for K-5 ELA & Literacy at Lexington Public Schools explains that the district introduced a phonics program called Fundations for all students in grades K-3 in the 2022-2023 school year, and says the district’s screening process for signs of dyslexia surpasses the state requirement, screening all K-5 students three times a year instead of two.
If students demonstrate early indications of potential dyslexia, they receive “evidence-based, structured-literacy intervention (Orton Gillingham, Wilson, or an intensive Fundations intervention) with a trained Literacy Specialist.”
Diggins Locher praised the district’s new phonics curriculum, saying that kids are “learning about the relationship between speech, sound and letter patterns, which is the building block of any skilled reader. So that’s a good thing. I wish my kids had that.”
Other parents shared stories of more recent struggles.
Kyle York says it took years for his 11-year-old daughter to receive dyslexia-specific instruction in Lexington Public Schools.
Despite his daughter’s notable intelligence, York and his wife observed peculiarities in her reading. In fourth grade, York says, his daughter’s teacher insisted she was reading at a fifth-grade level. She struggled with certain words but had her coping mechanisms. In evaluations, the family felt like the school selectively emphasized data to support the notion that his daughter was doing fine. When she reached the age of 10 — well past the early intervention window — the family finally arranged for a private evaluation and received a diagnosis of dyslexia.
“We probably spent in the last year like $20,000, between advocates, attorneys, [and] private tutors,” York says. The family finally signed an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for their daughter this year.
Jess Quattrocchi, co-president of LexSEPTA/LexSEPAC, a parent advisory council for special education, and a member of the dyslexia task force has two kids in the Lexington public school system, including an 11-year-old son with dyslexia.
Quattrocchi also describes difficulty advocating for her son to receive the specialized reading instruction he needs.
During his first-grade year, still within the “safe zone” for early intervention, she requested a comprehensive evaluation for her son. Quattrocchi says she faced resistance from several educators and administrators at Bowman Elementary in Lexington. The family resorted to driving twice a week to Lowell for private instruction using the Orton-Gillingham system.
Quattrocchi’s son’s struggles with reading persisted into second grade. Then the pandemic hit, further complicating matters. Quattrocchi described her son’s learning process during COVID-19 as “pure hell.”
“It became a mental health problem,” says Quattrocchi. “He was swearing and throwing the iPad on the floor, [he was] super frustrated, and I was frustrated. There were tears — which didn’t need to happen if they had just done what I asked them to do: give him services.”
It was only in third grade, she says, that her son received testing and a subsequent IEP. But the IEP still didn’t specify that her son has dyslexia, which, she says, would require specific interventions. Quattrocchi felt like the district avoided using the word “dyslexia” in order to circumvent the requirements.
Calleja, the literacy department head for Lexington schools, says that the district is “always working to improve our efficacy in supporting all students, including those with dyslexia,” and points to several new initiatives, including a pilot middle school literacy screening program to identify any students at risk for dyslexia who were missed earlier, and teacher training in dyslexia indicators and interventions for middle and high school teachers.
Quattrocchi appreciates those efforts, but says that parents need to continue advocating for earlier and better support. She and other parents are actively collaborating to establish a group called Lex4Literacy, dedicated to spreading awareness and advocating for improved literacy education for all students. There is a School Committee meeting tomorrow night where many parents are planning to share their stories and frustrations.
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