Honoring our Hispanic heritage by investing in our children's future

By Blanca E. Rubio

Sep 26, 2024, 07:27 AM EDT

As we honor the rich history of our ancestors during this Hispanic Heritage Month, it is also a time to reflect on the future of our Latino community. The opportunity for the next generation to thrive depends on our ability to prepare them for success today by giving them a solid foundation in literacy.

Reading opens a world of opportunity. Yet in California, only 3 in 10 Latino students from low-income communities are reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade, and only 2 in 10 English language learners. Of all English language learners in the state, nearly 82% speak Spanish. I am deeply committed to this cause because I have witnessed the reading crisis in California firsthand.

Before serving in the California Assembly, I was an educator for 16 years in the Baldwin Park Unified School District. My fourth graders, many of whom were English language learners, often began fourth grade reading at a first grade level. Every few months, we were introduced to a new “miracle” literacy program that was supposed to help all children read. But, time and time again, each program failed to meet the needs of my students because it did not address how a child learns to read.

Since then, we have seen significant scientific advances in understanding how students effectively develop literacy skills. A large body of interdisciplinary research, collectively known as the “science of reading,” finds that oral language development, in combination with evidence-based literacy instruction and materials, has been shown to be clearly beneficial for students, including those who are learning English.

The Science of Reading is different from the literacy programs I received as an educator because it is not a specific instructional program, nor a set of teaching materials or interventions. It is not the one-size-fits-all approach to phonics of the past, but rather a comprehensive emphasis on vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing, in addition to foundational phonological and phonemic awareness. Research also highlights the importance of oral practice and language development in the home, particularly for students who are learning English.

Some people falsely claim that the science of reading is not effective for students learning English. The truth is that regardless of whether a child is learning to read in English, Spanish, or any other language, the science of how the brain lays down new neural pathways when learning to read remains the same. In fact, research suggests that reading instruction based on the science of reading results in over 90% of students learning to read.

I immigrated to the United States at age six from Juarez, Mexico. As an English language learner, I know how important it is to use the best early literacy building blocks available to us. We cannot allow our English language learners to fall behind because we are not choosing the most effective teaching methods. That is why I introduced Assembly Bill 2222 earlier this year, and why I will reintroduce a similar bill in 2025, focused on investing in teacher training to strengthen science-supported early literacy.

Some schools have voluntarily embraced the science of reading, including the nation’s second-largest district, LAUSD, but others are still using outdated and sometimes harmful approaches to reading instruction. Currently, 39 states and Washington, DC, have committed to implementing comprehensive literacy policies based on the science of reading, with encouraging signs of success. We need state-level policies that implement evidence-based solutions in our classrooms. We must set students and educators up for success if we are to solve California’s literacy crisis, especially for Latino students and English language learners, who have historically been underserved.

We have the power to change our children’s futures and ensure they reach their full potential, so we can celebrate their accomplishments in many Hispanic Heritage Months to come.