AKRON, Ohio — Over the past year, Ohioans have shined a brighter spotlight on how kids are being taught to read.
The University of Akron was recently awarded a $950,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education to establish the Center for Structured Literacy on campus.
The center hopes to become the first and only public university in Ohio to be accredited by the International Dyslexia Association and offer the tools and development for educators teaching children how to read.
To learn more about the grant and the other recipients across the state, click here.
"Every teacher that is pre-k to 5th grade that goes through the university to be a teacher will go through this," director Rebecca Tolson explained. "Until all children can read, we need to be teaching more and better explicitly based on the structure of the language. This is not about a philosophical view. This is about the methods that are aligned to the evidence or science. What has science told us works for children to learn how to read?"
An Ohio Department of Education report points out that 39.9% of all Ohio third-grade students are not considered proficient in reading.
“The LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education is excited for the opportunity to establish a center for structured literacy," said Lisa Lenhart, Director of the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education, in a statement. “This grant underscores our commitment to fostering literacy and educational excellence, and our team is eager to embark on this journey to shape the future of education, creating a ripple effect of positive change in classrooms and communities.”
Back in January 2023, DeWine called out in his State of the State address for a renewed focus on literacy, especially on a phonics-based approach.
"There are schools that don’t use the science of reading," DeWine said. "They might say we’ve invested a lot of money in our teachers and our curriculum. What we’re saying is the state will pay for it."
However, as Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said in previous reporting by News 5, some red flags fly up when proposing a mandated approach for Ohio’s nearly 2 million children.
RELATED: Is your child having trouble learning to read? Gov. DeWine pushes for more emphasis on phonics
DiMauro pointed to the failed federal “No Child Left Behind” program and the need for choices when it comes to teaching a wide learning range of students.
"It's not just enough to focus on one piece of the puzzle," he told News 5 last year. "When I talk to our members, I don't know anyone who is 100% pro-phonics or anti-phonics. I don't know of anyone who's 100% pro-balanced literacy or anti-balanced literacy. I think teachers use the strategies that they know work."
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The Reading Recovery Council of North America, which works with 2,400 elementary schools across the state and is headquartered just outside Columbus, is suing the state, arguing a judge should throw out Governor DeWine's phonics-based requirement. That case is still ongoing.
