Finance
Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approves 4 reading curriculums under Act 20
Editor’s note: With low reading proficiency scores across the state, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin is exploring the causes and consequences of low literacy. This article is part of the By the Book series, which examines reading curriculum, instructional methods and solutions in K-12 education to answer the questions: Why do so many Wisconsin kids struggle to read, and what can be done about it?
To read other stories in the series, click here.
Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance approved Monday a list of four reading curricula schools can adopt to be in compliance with the state’s new reading law, Act 20. The curricula approved are those recommended by the state’s Early Literacy Curriculum Council, a nine-member council created to specifically evaluate K-3 reading curriculums for their compliance with Act 20.
The four curricula approved are:
- Core Knowledge Language Arts K-3
- Our EL Education Language Arts
- Wit and Wisdom with Pk-3 Reading Curriculum
- Bookworms Reading and Writing K-3
Act 20, signed into law last summer, requires curriculum to be backed by the “science of reading”: a decades-old body of research that explains how the brain learns to read. It includes an emphasis on phonics, which teaches students the sounds letters make and how those sounds combine in predictable patterns to form words.
The law’s changes are aimed at improving reading proficiency in the state, which has been low for years. Fewer than half of students at the state’s five largest school districts are considered proficient in reading, according to state exam scores since 2018.
Part of the law’s revamping of reading instruction requires schools to use specific instructional methods that are systemic and explicit by next school year. This instruction must include fluency, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, oral language development, vocabulary, writing, comprehension and building background knowledge.
The list of approved curricula is significant because school districts that adopt one of them can receive reimbursement for up to half the cost, which can be millions of dollars. Many districts will be turning to this list as they redefine how they teach reading.
Committee Democrats, DPI worry list will open state up to litigation
This list was approved 10-4 along party lines with all Republicans on the committee voting in favor and no Democratic support. While Republicans were in favor of the four curricula recommended by the Early Literacy Curriculum Council, Democrats wanted to approve the Department of Public Instruction’s broader list.
In February, the Early Literacy Curriculum Council released its list of four recommended curricula. About 30 curriculum vendors submitted materials for evaluation by the council, and by February, it had reviewed about half, according to a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Given how much time curriculum review requires and the swift deadlines in Act 20, the council didn’t have enough time to review all the submitted curricula, the bureau’s memo said.
DPI, the state’s education agency, did its own evaluation of all the curricula, recommending 11. It rejected one of the council’s recommendations (Bookworms Reading & Writing for K-3) and added others that the council hadn’t rated.
More on Act 20: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction asks lawmakers to change deadline for implementing part of Wisconsin’s new literacy law
In a letter to the Joint Committee on Finance, the DPI said the council’s process for evaluating curricula had exposed the state to “an unacceptable level of risk.”
Because not all vendors who submitted curriculum materials were evaluated by the council, one that wasn’t evaluated could sue, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Democrats on the Joint Committee on Finance said that was reason enough to go with DPI’s recommendations. However, Republicans saw that as weak argument, opting for the four curricula from the Early Literacy Curriculum Council.
“This council, they’re experts. This is what they do,” said. Sen. Duey Stroebel during the committee meeting. “And I’m sorry I’m not going to look to DPI as, my god, the only people in the world who can pick the correct curriculum.”
He said the committee shouldn’t “water down, not give our kids the best quality curriculum” because of a “far-fetched legal theory.”
More on Act 20: Wisconsin passed a landmark literacy law 3 months ago. So what happens next?
The committee’s move is a “missed opportunity,” said state Superintendent Jill Underly in a media release.
“The DPI’s list of high-quality materials is robust, offers more support and flexibility, meets the definition of science-based early literacy detailed in Act 20 and mirrors materials recommended by other states undergoing similar changes,” Underly said.
The Early Literacy Curriculum Council is required to annually recommend science-based K-3 reading curricula, so Monday’s list is subject to expansion next year.
Why does the list of curricula matter?
Districts aren’t required to adopt the approved curricula, but those will be the only ones eligible for partial reimbursement — a large incentive for districts, given the cost of curriculum adoption.
Many districts will likely make the switch to new reading curriculum, if not the four approved Monday. In the past, DPI has recommended that districts use curricula positively rated by a third-party curriculum evaluation organization called EdReports.
At least 79% of school districts surveyed by the Department of Public Instruction in 2021 said they use a curriculum that is either not rated or is negatively rated by EdReports. About 80% of school districts participated in the survey.
Districts have been waiting for the release of curricula so they can adopt new practices, train their staff and be in compliance with Act 20 by the 2024-25 school year. The Green Bay School District, for example, has been waiting for the literacy council and DPI to release its curriculum list before it buys new reading curriculum. It plans to select something for grades kindergarten through eight in March.
Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
Finance
UK finance minister to revive regular economic talks with China in January trip, sources says
By Joe Cash
BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain’s finance minister Rachel Reeves will visit China on a two-day trip in January to revive high-level economic and financial talks that have been frozen since 2019, three people with knowledge of the plan said.
Reeves is scheduled to meet China’s vice premier He Lifeng, the country’s economy tsar, on Jan. 11 in Beijing to restart what had been annual talks known as the Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), they said.
If those discussions show progress, the two sides could look to re-launch what had been a regular and wider meeting known as the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) later next year, the sources said.
British businesses have also pressed to restart meetings of the UK-China CEO Council, a group established by then-Prime Minister Theresa May and then-Premier Li Keqiang in 2018, one of the sources added.
Reuters reported on Thursday that HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker will lead a business delegation that will visit China next month in a bid to boost trade and investment with a particular focus on financial services.
Reeves will also go to Shanghai, where she will meet with British companies operating in China on Jan. 12, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the plans.
Britain decided to suspend most economic dialogues with China in 2020 after Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong, the former British colony. Since then, spying allegations, the war in Ukraine, and the sanctioning of lawmakers have increased tensions between the two countries.
The Labour government, in power in Britain since July, has made improving ties with China one of its main foreign policy goals after a period under successive Conservative governments when relations plunged to their lowest in decades.
In 2022, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a Conservative, declared the end of a “golden era” of relations with China that one of his predecessors, David Cameron, had championed.
Over the preceding decade, British and Chinese officials had met annually for high-level trade and investment talks, holding an EFD almost every year and a JETCO every two years.
Those talks resulted in the London-Shanghai stock connect scheme, Britain joining the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and joint investment into green technologies, including the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.
(Reporting by Joe Cash)
Hello! It’s Rebecca here with your final Australia Briefing of 2024. And what a year it’s been. From the re-election of Donald Trump and the ongoing slowdown in China, to the blockbuster IPOs and corporate scandals closer to home — 2024 will go down as one for the ages.
Before we all revert to the sanctity of our beach towels, I thought I’d load you up with a selection of my favorite pieces from Bloomberg’s Australia newsroom this year. A stockpile of stories, videos and podcasts to help you while away those days by the pool, at the campsite, or wherever the onset of summer takes you…
Is ‘Bluey’ Ending? Disney’s Worried Biggest Kids Show Ever Is at Risk — Essential reading for anyone with a kid, or honestly, a pulse. Did you know that Americans watched 731 million hours of Bluey in 2023, more than NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls or that perennial of the broadcast, cable and streaming eras, Friends? That’s almost as much as my kids.
Australia Has a Top Pension Program. Why Are Many Retirees Still Struggling? — It’s official: Australia’s retirement system is the envy of the wealthy world. So why aren’t we all diving Scrooge McDuck-style into a vat of cash?
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Investing for the Ultra-Rich: Family Offices Are Booming in Perth, Australia — Twiggy lives there, and so does Gina — but those two reasonably well-off citizens aside, why is Perth a magnet for family offices?
Finance
Arrow Financial Strengthens Board with Four Industry Veterans, Adding Banking and Finance Expertise
James M. Dawsey, President of MLB Construction Services, LLC, will bring financial and operational expertise to the Arrow board, drawing from more than 45 years of experience in construction management and operations oversight. He has extensive expertise in reviewing financial statements, cost control and profit-and-loss oversight for his five companies. His proven ability to ensure financial strength and operational efficiency will provide valuable insight to the board. He currently serves on the board of directors of Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company, Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company, Upstate Agency, LLC, Local Union 157 and the Eastern Contractors Association.
Dr. Kristine D. Duffy, President of SUNY Adirondack, has more than 35 years of
Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors Collaborative, brings extensive expertise in cultural facilities and development to the board, with nearly 50 years of experience renovating more than 20 buildings for cultural purposes and raising more than
Daniel J. White, a Certified Public Accountant, brings a wealth of experience to the board, having served as the former Office Managing Partner for KPMG LLP’s
“We are thrilled to welcome Jim, Kris, Philip and Dan to the Arrow Financial Corporation Board of Directors,” said David S. DeMarco, President and CEO of Arrow Financial Corporation. “Their diverse backgrounds and expertise will greatly enhance our board’s capabilities. We are confident their leadership and insights will help guide our organization as we continue to grow, innovate and serve our community with excellence.”
About Arrow Financial Corporation:
Arrow Financial Corporation is a multi-bank holding company headquartered in
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arrow-financial-corporation-appoints-four-new-board-members-302335965.html
SOURCE Arrow Financial Corporation
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