Although our bills to provide high-quality literacy instruction in all MA schools were not passed on July 31, 2024, we must continue the fight to legislate Science of Reading Instruction. Because we know that students learn best from explicit, sequential, direct teaching of phonics, we should thank our legislators for supporting these bills and entice them to work with us until we create an equal opportunity for all to learn. Four months remain in 2024. Ask our legislators to support families now!

I became an advocate for children in the 1970’s because my son was born with dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. In those days, schools blamed the child’s failures on bad parenting. Therefore, some slow progress has been achieved. Most young children today are screened in Kindergarten or first grade for at-risk learning traits. Three-year-olds can qualify for free, speech therapy. Special Education programs are mandated through state and federal laws for children needing special services. Unfortunately, many of these programs have proven ineffective due to: lack of money; lack of beneficial, teacher training; lack of materials; and lack of motivation. Delayed intervention impedes optimal recovery and often leads to emotional and/or anti-social problems. Therefore, we must continue working together to create more powerful, timely interventions.

 Look what has been achieved! In the 20th century, Dr. Samuel Orton demonstrated that combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic input for a single concept greatly increases learning potential. Sue’s Strategies®, by adding memory tactics of pictures, patterns, and stories to Dr. Orton’s methods, accelerated the acquisition of language skills. Animated videos now attract and maintain student attention for learning new skills and/or reviewing them. Mark Seidenberg and Stanislas Dehaene researched and published how the brain reads. Thirty-seven states have passed literacy laws mandating the Science of Reading. Hopefully, the federal government will pass a law requiring these methods for all children.

Thank you for your energetic support for better language programs, and keep up the pressure. Join me in continuing the fight to educate all our children in the Science of Reading. 

Susan B. Kahn, MEd, CEO of Sue’s Strategies, LLC