Yamilka, a 23-year-old Bronx native, was unable to read street signs well enough to get back home from an unfamiliar subway station. This despite being promoted from grade to grade in New York City public schools -- and even graduating with a special education diploma, a diploma she regards as meaningless.
Hers is a shocking story, even for those of us who have been writingabout NYC public schools and students for years . Yamilka's story is one of several cases documented by Beth Fertig, an education reporter for WNYC radio, in her new book "why cant u teach me 2 read?" which was featured in USA Today yesterday.
Fertig tells the stories of three young adults - all in their twenties - who cannot read. All three have learning disabilities and were clients of Advocates for Children of New York (the parent organization of Insideschools.org). After the public schools failed to teach them to read, Advocates fought successfully for them to have private tutoring to try to make up for the years of service they had never received.
No real happy endings here; although all three students learned to read after they successfully obtained outside help, none of the students was even close to reading at an adult level, graduating with a regular diploma, or even acquiring a GED, by book's end. The three attended NYC schools mostly in the years before Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein took over the education system. Fertig writes about Klein's efforts to improve the city's schools, largely using data-driven methods, but concludes that many teachers are still not receiving the training they need to work with students who have severe learning disabilities.
Yamilka's case is not that unusual, according to Advocates.
"We find these situations dire but they are not really that surprising anymore," said Matthew Lenaghan, who is deputy director of Advocates for Children and was involved in the three AFC cases described by Fertig. "Even though we are dealing with limited resources, these cases are always a priority because this is a student in crisis."
Advocates finds there is no shortage of older students in need of help. Earlier this month, a student from the Bronx called "Josh" contacted Anisha Cumber, a lawyer at Advocates for Children. He is 20 years old and reading at a 1st-grade level. Meanwhile, a school in Queens is trying to "push out" another 20-year-old who is reading at a 4th-grade level. Only recently was it discovered that he has dyslexia. Lawyers will represent these students to get them the help they need.
"I'm getting the kids who are smart, who have the cognitive abilities, but who aren't being taught the way they need to be taught," said Cumber. "They are not getting the specialized reading help they need, and they end up dropping out."
Sadly, Fertig’s book is a reminder that the city schools still have their forgotten students and the Department of Education has a long way to go to make sure every child learns how to read.
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