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Teacher warns board cutting career‑literacy classes would reduce reading support for middle grades
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Summary
A middle-school career-literacy teacher told the board the district proposal to eliminate career‑literacy would remove a program used for reading support, special-education pullouts and career awareness; she urged members to reconsider before a formal hearing April 21.
Tracy McClanahan, a career-literacy teacher who identified herself as a middle-school instructor, addressed the board during delegations to oppose a county recommendation to eliminate career‑literacy classes across middle schools.
McClanahan said the district’s plan would remove 24 career-literacy teachers and argued that the course — introduced about 8½ years ago to improve students’ informational reading and writing — supplies critical reading instruction and supports for struggling students.
“I will be here again April 21 for my formal public hearing,” McClanahan told the board. She described the course as a blend of literacy and career education and said the class is classified as a career-technical education course for which the county receives state funding; she added that district staff were unable to provide the board audience with the specific state payment amount when she asked.
Nut graf: McClanahan said career-literacy provides both foundational reading interventions and project-based, career-centered learning that would be difficult to replicate in a 30-minute non‑graded period or to transfer to non‑certified staff without losing instructional impact.
She listed specific activities used in the class — from project-based learning and guest speakers to coding, CPR certification, job-shadowing and podcast production — and said special-education pull-out reading instruction happens during career-literacy time, which would leave those supports without a scheduled replacement if the course is cut.
McClanahan urged the board to consider student outcomes and to preserve the course, saying, “Can we afford to cut an integral part of education from our students' lives? Can we afford to limit their achievement? My answer is no.”
Ending: McClanahan said she will return on April 21 for the formal public hearing on the proposal; the board did not take a final vote on the proposal at the April 1 meeting.
