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[New Jersey – March 31, 2025] Last Summer, Governor Phil Murphy signed the Literacy Bill Package, which called for implementing a series of initiatives to address student achievement in reading. Included in the Package was the requirement that the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) establish the “New Jersey Working Group on Student Literacy” to produce a report providing policy recommendations to address the literacy issue.
The full report and series of recommendations were publicly released earlier this month and can be found HERE.
The New Jersey State School Board will hold its monthly meeting this Wednesday. Currently, the work of the New Jersey Working Group on Student Literacy is not listed on their agenda.
The following is a statement from Paula White, Executive Director of JerseyCAN:
“Two weeks ago, the New Jersey Working Group on Student Literacy released formal recommendations for the New Jersey Department of Education’s review and consideration. New Jersey faces a tall mountain to climb to measurably improve the number of public school students able to read at grade level. Thankfully, the recommendations outlined by the Working Group are a bold and thorough start and provide a clear blueprint to face our learning challenges. If implemented swiftly, their work could kickstart the paradigm shift in literacy that our Governor and our state legislators endorsed this Summer with the Literacy Bill Package, which must be implemented in just a few short months.
“I would urge every educator, member of the media, parent, district superintendent, and elected official in Trenton to take a moment to read each recommendation. We must all seize the moment to increase the number of public school students reading at grade level.
“The Working Group’s plan is direct and transparent, and it recommends a series of evidence-based, practice-proven actions. Governor Murphy, NJDOE Commissioner Dehmer, and each member of the Working Group should be commended for their brave, important work on behalf of our New Jersey public school scholars, and now we must all act.
“Specifically, the Working Group calls for gold-standard literacy screenings; utilizing proven solutions already implemented in other states that have faced similar literacy challenges; needed teacher development programs, such as LETRS Trainings; incentives for our school districts to demonstrate measurable improvements in student achievement through more vigorous curriculum; and prioritizing stronger family engagement that goes beyond parent notification in addressing this issue at the student level.
“These specific recommendations to modernize how we teach reading in New Jersey are a culmination of years of expertise developed by New Jersey’s elected leaders, the NJDOE, local educators in the field, the JerseyCAN advocacy community, and the leadership and vision of the New Jersey Legacy of Literacy Coalition (NJLL). We have all come together, and we should all celebrate this defined plan that promises to support the proper execution of foundational literacy in our state’s classrooms. We must now use all available resources to cement these recommendations into state-level policy.”
The New Jersey Working Group on Student Literacy and the Literacy Bill Package came on the heels of a broad grassroots effort led by JerseyCAN and the creation of the New Jersey Legacy of Literacy Coalition (NJLL), which continues to serve as a statewide umbrella alliance to advocate for adopting a high-quality statewide plan that addresses literacy in every public school in the state. Specifically, the NJLL Coalition’s Declaration of Principles includes investment in teacher training, student literacy screeners, parent engagement, and deep engagement with local universities and colleges to prepare future teachers to address the state’s literacy challenges. The NJLL Coalition includes the Urban League of Essex County, The Reading League New Jersey, New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Decoding Dyslexia NJ, The Racial Equity Initiative, Inc., New Jersey Business and Industry Association, Teach for America New Jersey, NJ Children’s Foundation, Read 4 NJ, Parent Impact, My Brother’s Keeper Newark, Westside Citizens United, Camden Education Fund, Roots & Bridges, Newark Opportunity Youth Network, and Unapologetic Parents.
NJDOE’s The New Jersey Working Group on Student Literacy membership included members of the New Jersey Legacy of Literacy (NJLL) coalition, fellows from JerseyCAN’s Parent Champions for Strong Schools Fellowship, fellows from JerseyCAN’s New Jersey Teacher Leader Policy Fellowship, and other statewide education leaders from across the state.
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Contact: Matthew Frankel, MDF Strategies, Matthew@MDFStrategies.com, 917.617.7914