Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Instructional Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Erie schools report progress on Chapter 49 structured literacy training; secondary rollout planned
Summary
District officials told the board that structured literacy professional development required under Pennsylvania Chapter 49 is underway: 264 teachers trained in initial cohorts last year, roughly 73 this year, and a secondary-specific rollout planned for next year.
Karen Ryan, the district’s director of educational services, gave the board an update on structured literacy professional development required under Pennsylvania’s Chapter 49.
Ryan said the district has been implementing structured literacy training in multi-year cohorts and described the training as the mechanism to ensure staff hold necessary certifications. “Another way of thinking about it is a multiplication problem,” Ryan told the board, explaining that word recognition and language comprehension must both be taught for reading comprehension to develop.
Why it matters: Chapter 49 requires districts to provide structured literacy training that supports teachers’ ability to instruct reading systematically. The district’s rollout affects elementary and, starting next year, secondary classroom instruction and professional certification timelines.
What the board heard - Ryan said the initiative began in the 2022–23 school year and is organized as a three-year cycle tied to certification timelines under state guidance. She reported the district trained about 264 teachers in two cohorts last year and about 73 teachers so far this year in three cohorts that included parochial and Title I staff and teachers new to elementary school.
- The district’s approach trains principals to become trainers who then lead school-based cohorts. Ryan credited Holly Northrop and Mel Miller for helping develop and run the program and said the district is working with the intermediate unit to develop a secondary-specific course for older struggling readers.
- When asked how many teachers remain to be trained, Ryan estimated “about 40” teachers still need certification training; the district plans to prioritize secondary staff next year and fold noncertification staff (art, music) into cohorts where useful.
Context and next steps: Ryan said the secondary rollout is being developed now so the training will be applicable to older students. The training is described in the meeting as a recurring three-year requirement unless the law changes. The transcript does not include a formal board vote on this item; it was an informational update.
Provenance (selected transcript excerpts): The educational services update begins at the segment starting at 3029.50 in the meeting record and Ryan’s estimate of remaining teachers appears later in the same presentation (segments around 3133.77 and 3249.47).
