To look inside Julie Celestial’s kindergarten classroom in Long Beach is to peer into the future of reading in California. During a recent lesson, 25 kindergartners gazed at the whiteboard, trying to ...

We’re exploring the declining skills and flagging enthusiasm for reading among American youth. One key cause can be traced back to how kids are taught to read in the earliest grades. Classic reading ...

America’s kids aren’t learning how to read, a skill which forms the building blocks of nearly every other subject or discipline and a lifelong capacity for acquiring knowledge. That’s why it’s ...

To the editor: In 1970, I was a student teacher and then a second-grade teacher in New York. I later became a learning and reading specialist and taught the teachers. Throughout my training, I learned ...

4:16 p.m. June 2, 2025: An earlier version of this report incorrectly said teaching phonics was new to Long Beach Unified. Some phonics has been taught in the district for years, but a new focus on ...