Petition: Reform Needham Public Schools' Literacy Curriculum

To: Needham School Committee and School Administration

Dear Needham Parents and Community Members,

We, the undersigned, are concerned about the effectiveness of Needham Public Schools' (NPS) current literacy program. 

Key Concerns:

Poor Student Outcomes:

• According to MCAS results, over 1 in 3 of 3-5 grade students in Needham are not proficiently literate.
• More than two-thirds of low-income, Black, and students with disabilities are failing to read and write at grade level.

Defective Core Curriculum

• The district uses the Lucy Calkins' Units of Study as the core literacy curriculum (2018 & 2022), which has not been approved by MA Dept. of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE).
• Units of Study (2018) has been widely criticized, is banned in many states and is at the center of a class action lawsuit for being "defective" and "deceptive."

Disjointed Approach:

• The current literacy program is disjointed. 
• The base program (Units of Study) has required "a series of add-on components (e.g., Heggerty, Fundations, etc.), leading to teacher frustration and overwhelm, and an incoherent experience for students," according to the NPS. 

Ineffective Assessment System:

• The Benchmark Assessment System, used in Needham schools, fails to catch struggling readers. 

Ongoing Literacy Pilot 

• Units of Study (2022) is included in the pilot.
• Not all curricula in the pilot have been reviewed and approved by DESE. 
• How will NPS compare curricula across grades and schools?

Our Request:

We are calling for the following changes to ensure all students receive a high-quality, evidence-based literacy education:

1. Replace current curricula with high quality, budget friendly, grant eligible curricula. 
2. Provide strong professional development for our teachers while maintaining a supportive environment as they make this shift.

What You Can Do:

• Sign the Petition to support the adoption of a more effective literacy curriculum and demand our school committee and leaders take action now!
• Make Public Comment at School Committee Meetings: Public comments can be made via zoom (https://www.needham.k12.ma.us/district_info/school_committee) or in person at 6:30 PM on Tuesdays. Your voice matters!  Here are some sample questions to ask
• Join us at Broadmeadow for the literacy pilot forum on January 28th at 6:30 PM to learn more about how we can make improvements.

For further details and supporting documents, including fully sourced documentation, please visit this link. 

Background Document

Thank you for your attention and support in ensuring that all Needham students receive the literacy education they deserve. Our children deserve better, our teachers deserve better, and our community deserves better!

Sincerely,
The Needham Literacy Coalition

NeedhamLiteracyCoalition@gmail.com