LAUSD may turn the page on reading program

SCHOOLS: Board is expected to replace tightly scripted plan with more flexible one.

Kindergarten teacher Julia Gonzalez, who received a layoff notice, gives a lesson in her class at Fullbright Avenue Elementary School in Winnetka, Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

Saying the Open Court reading program has outlived its usefulness, the Los Angeles Unified school board is expected today to replace the tightly scripted program with one that is more flexible and cost-effective.

Highly controversial when it was adopted in 1999, Open Court was blasted by critics who said it stifled teacher innovation and failed to meet the needs of English language learners.

Advocates, however, credited Open Court with improving reading scores among the district's elementary school students. The program utilizes specific and detailed lesson plans to teach youngsters phonics and reading comprehension.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines said Monday that student reading scores have plateaued under Open Court and that adopting the new Treasures program will save money and better serve the needs of kids.

"Just because we get used to things doesn't mean that's a reason to continue them," said Cortines, an early advocate of Open Court. "We need to look at ways to take our students to the next level."

District officials will recommend that Treasures - which like "Open Court" is produced by McGraw-Hill - be adopted for six years. The program would cost $10 million.

But it would also save the district $50 million over a six-year period, officials said. The savings are possible because Open Court materials have been out of print for the last four years, and the district has had to pay $15 million annually to reproduce

lost or battered books and learning tools.

Officials say Treasures has a stronger focus on writing than Open Court does, so is better aligned with new state education standards. And teachers would be able to create their own lesson plans for their students - including those for whom English is a second language.

Currently LAUSD has 220,000 English language learners - one-third of the enrollment and the largest concentration of such students in the country.

The district has struggled with dismal scores among its English-learners, with just 3 out of 100 scoring at the proficient level in English and math in standardized tests given in high school.

In fact, the performance of these students has been so dismal that the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation two years ago to determine whether the district had denied them educational opportunities.

Judy Elliott, the district's chief academic officer, said Treasures would help address the needs of English-language learners, while helping other students attain higher levels of achievement.

"Even our regular students have flat-lined," Elliott said. "Open Court did its job, people should be congratulated. But now it's time to move on."

Although Elliott said teachers will get training for Treasures, some educators were skeptical about changing the reading curriculum at a time when the district is laying off teachers and increasing class size.

"This is an issue of timing," said Karen Yale, a kindergarten teacher at Danube Elementary. "The timing is horrible."

Cortines introduced Open Court to the district in 1999, while he was interim superintendent, because of dismal reading scores among its elementary students.

While many teachers chafed against the rigidity of the program, they couldn't argue when reading scores shot up after the first year.

That cemented the idea that teachers needed to stick to the program without deviation, prompting the district to deploy coaches to classrooms to ensure that every detail was being replicated.

"They treated it like the Bible and if you deviated in any way... you were subjected to an inquisition," said Janet Davis, an LAUSD teacher adviser and former elementary school teacher.

Davis recalled that she was once reprimanded for using the wrong Open Court puppet for a reading lesson.

As chair of the United Teachers Los Angeles elementary school committee, Davis has studied the Treasures program and believes it will better serve the district.

"I know people are paranoid because of the history in this district ... but this program will be different," she said.

Davis pointed out that the money the district is spending on Open Court could be put to better use at a time when the district is struggling with massive budget cuts.

"It's like an old car," Davis said. "You keep driving it to save money but then you get to the point when your spending more on maintenance and repairs than the car is even worth ... At that point it's time to get a new car."

Kim Kardashian Kristanna Loken Megan Ewing Katherine Heigl Simone Mütherthies