Millburn D24 scrambling to find alternative to state summer reading programs; ‘How do you do that to your teachers?’

With less than two months before the summer break, Millburn District 24 and its Board of Education are racing to find a summer reading program solution after the board voted to eliminate state reading programs from the elementary and middle schools.

Three weeks ago, the Lindenhurst-based school district’s Board of Education voted to withdraw participation from three state reading programs: the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Program, the Monarch Award and the Bluestem Reading Challenge.

Some members of the board who supported withdrawing from the program found the Caudill list to be “left-leaning.” At the March meeting and again on Monday night, parents, teachers and students flocked to Millburn Elementary School to voice support for — and urge the board to reinstate — the reading programs.

Since the board voted to eliminate the programs, a petition drive garnered more than 1,600 signatures advocating the return of the programs, multiple state library organizations published statements supporting the programs and a group of district residents filed a grievance against some board members for allegedly violating school board policy.

Moving forward, Superintendent Jason Lind said a group of English language arts teachers and some board members will discuss options for a summer reading program, with the hope that one is ready by the last day of school on June 4.

Detailed curriculum discussions, he said, can’t be done in a board meeting forum.

“Every option is on the table,” Lind said. “The discussion is going to focus on what is it that we’re trying to accomplish with our summer reading program, and what’s the best way to go about doing that.”

During the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, board member Jillyen Phelps suggested curating a reading list with Millburn teachers to supplement the statewide readers’ choice programs, as a potential compromise to the community and district’s division over the contents and promotion of the reading programs.

“That’s also putting a lot more on the teachers, which I’m not happy about, but I’d be willing as a board member to work with them to make a compromise to bring back the Caudill list while also having a supplemental list,” said Phelps, who was one of three board members to support the reading programs.

Each of the three statewide programs provides a list of 20 book titles, created by more than 70 librarians and educators from around the state. Students who read at least three titles can participate in activities, raffles and vote for their favorite book.

The board’s March 18 decision to withdraw from the programs does not remove the books from the school libraries, but is rather eliminates the promotion of the reading programs.

Board member John Ruggles, one of the four board members who voted to withdraw from the programs, said he could be “amenable” to the compromise of a supplemental reading program.

“I have way more faith in our teachers than I do in the Caudill program; I just do,” Ruggles said at the board meeting.

Local teachers, librarians and parents spoke for almost an hour during public comment, urging the board to reinstate the reading programs. Some said removing the programs was “reckless,” “uninformed” and “embarrassing to the community.”

President of the Millburn Federation of Teachers union Suzanne Dekorsi said at Monday’s meeting the reading programs play a significant role in student choice, leadership development, are the best practice for promoting reading and the union members support the state programs.

“It has been made clear that after your last board meeting … the community feels strongly about the importance of keeping the readers’ choice programs in place,” Dekorsi said. “I’m here to share how your teachers feel.”

Though they’ve shared their frustrations at board meetings, some teachers have expressed they’ll “do whatever (they) have to do” to keep kids reading throughout the summer, Lind said.

“Their main focus is on reading and helping kids expand their reading lists and broadening their reading experiences,” Lind said. “We’re trying to move forward in the best interest of our community and school the best we know how.”

Megan Hener, the parent of a Millburn Middle School student and educator in Lake County, said the Caudill reading program helped her daughter with dyslexia become a proficient reader.

“The Millburn School District, the teachers, the curriculum, the Caudill reading program helped my child who hated reading because of her disability, to read and choose books that she likes and enjoys now as an eighth grader,” Hener said. “I’m concerned that these board members are dismantling everything that the Millburn School District represents.”

Hener, along with 25 other district residents, filed a grievance with Lind after Monday night’s meeting, alleging the school board members who voted to remove the reading programs violated six Millburn School Board policies.

Lind said this is “the first time that’s ever happened,” and the district plans to discuss how to respond with their legal counsel and the Regional Office of Education’s superintendent.

The grievance letter asserts that in removing the state reading programs, the board violated policies related to community connection, teaching about controversial issues and philosophical principles to develop cultural diversity with the appropriate instructional material, which the letter argues the reading programs fulfill.

“As an educator, to have a curriculum you’ve used for years abruptly pulled from you, with about 40-whatever days left, and nothing to put in place is concerning,” Hener said. “How do you do that to your teachers? You remove it, but you don’t have a viable option to replace it.”

The letter also alleges that a curriculum review program should have been developed to assess the reading programs, and that any complaints about the material should have been raised through a Curriculum Objection Form.

Parents have the option to have their children opt out of any “objectionable curriculum.” Lind said the district seldom goes through a formal process, but rather it is communicated with instructors informally.

For any summer reading program, opting out is an option, and Lind said the district would make that more clear moving forward in communications with parents.

The Association of Illinois School Library Educators and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award  put out a statement earlier this month in support of the reading programs, stating the reading programs are “best practice” to encourage students to see themselves as future readers and leaders.

The statement was supported by the Illinois Library Association, Illinois Heartland Library System, and Reaching Across Illinois Library System.

“These lists are important tools for teachers and librarians, whose charge is to encourage reading and promote excellent literature. These lists are resources for students, who — as individuals — select which books to read and how many to read,” the statement said.

“Readers’ Choice Award programs help schools and libraries celebrate reading and establish a reading culture within their community, which further supports student reading motivation and academic achievement,” the statement said.

chilles@chicagotribune.com