“We want to work on priorities both in legislation and things that have been proposed in the state budget, including literacy specialists and coaches, that we believe can really help offset the challenges that many students have experienced during the pandemic,” said Thurmond. “I know that reading by third grade has eluded the educational system for many years, but this is something that we can achieve.”

Thurmond is sponsoring Senate Bill 952 (Limón), to help existing schools convert to dual-language immersion programs; Assembly Bill 2498 (Bonta), to expand Freedom School programs, evidence-based Afrocentric literacy programs that have been shown to help students improve their reading by one to two grade levels in as little as six weeks; and AB 2465 (Bonta), which would expand literacy programs to fund home visits to help families reach literacy goals.

Guest panelists included Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara); Linda Darling-Hammond, president, California State Board of Education; Erika Torres, county administrator, Inglewood USD; Jackie Wong, executive director, First Five California; and Frances Gipson, director of the Urban Leadership Program and professor at Claremont Graduate University.