TO:     Lourdes  Castro  Ramírez,  Principal  Deputy  Assistant  Secretary  Public  and  Indian  Housing.  The  Department  of  Housing  and  Urban  Development    Katherine  M.  O'Regan,  Assistant  Secretary  Policy  Development  and  Research  The  Department  of  Housing  and  Urban  Development  

 

From:     Ralph  Smith       Managing  Director       The  Campaign  for  Grade  Level  Reading    

Date:     May  17,  2016  

 

RE:   FR-­‐5932-­‐N-­‐01  Request  for  Specific  Policy  Proposals  and  Methods  of  Research  and  

Evaluation  for  MTW  Demonstration  Expansion      

 

 

The  Campaign  for  Grade-­‐Level  Reading  respectfully  submits  the  following  comments  for  the  expansion  of  Moving  to  Work  in  the  specific  policy  area  of  improving  educational  outcomes  through  housing  partnerships.    

More  than  one  million  children  from  birth  to  age  8  are  housed  by  the  nation’s  3,200  housing  

authorities.  Many  of  these  children  often  start  school  with  such  a  reading  deficit  that  they  have  little  

hope  of  achieving  proficiency  by  the  end  of  third  grade,  a  key  predictor  of  high  school  graduation.    In  

fact,  children  who  are  not  reading  on  grade  level  by  the  end  of  third  grade  are  four  times  more  likely  to  

not  graduate  from  high  school,  which  significantly  constrains  their  chances  for  success.    These  children  

start  school  in  some  cases  so  far  behind  that  they  won’t  catch  up.  They  miss  so  much  school  that  they  

fall  further  behind  during  the  school  year  because  their  learning  is  interrupted  and  disrupted  by  chronic  

absence,  whether  the  absence  is  due  to  a  suspension,  family  crisis  or  illness.  Finally,  these  kids  fall  

behind  every  summer  and  return  to  school  every  September  further  behind  than  when  they  left  in  June.  

Alone,  any  of  these  three  factors  could  be  disabling.  But  in  combination  they  dramatically  increase  the  

chances  that  children  will  miss  the  third-­‐grade  reading  benchmark.  Only  24/7/365  support  and  

intervention  will  likely  make  a  difference  for  children,  the  kind  not  available  in  schools  alone.  Public  

housing,  however,  operates  24  hours  a  day,  7  days  a  week,  all  year  round  and  can  therefore  serve  as  a  

         

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platform  and  support  to  help  children  read  on  grade  level  by  the  end  of  third  grade  and  significantly  

increase  their  chances  of  graduating  from  high  school,  entering  the  workforce  and,  overall,  being  

successful  in  life.      

 

Because  of  the  nexus  between  housing  and  education,  the  Campaign  for  Grade-­‐Level  Reading  and  HUD  

have  entered  into  an  MOU  to  ensure  that  at  least  25  PHAs  are  actively  engaged  with  the  GLR  Campaign  

and  are  working  to  ensure  that  kids  living  in  public  housing  are  reading  proficiently  by  the  end  of  third  

grade.  In  addition  to  many  other  strategies  to  make  progress  in  the  areas  of  readiness,  attendance  and  

summer  learning  loss,  PHAs  must  engage  parents  and  use  data  to  make  and  track  progress.  Secretary  

Castro  has  identified  the  work  in  this  MOU  as  an  important  pillar  in  the  Department’s  education  efforts.    

 

The  flexibility  afforded  to  PHAs  under  MTW  makes  them  particularly  adept  at  implementing  some  of  the  

interventions  identified  in  the  MOU.  In  fact,  of  the  38  MTW  sites,  17  are  in  GLR  Campaign  communities.  

The  Campaign  for  Grade-­‐Level  Reading  thus  suggests  that  the  Department  include  the  HUD/GLR  

Campaign  MOU  framework  in  selecting  new  MTW  sites.      

 

Specifically,  the  PHA  should  be  required  to  commit  to  develop  and  implement  a  plan  that  includes  

working  with  partners  (e.g.,  local  school  districts,  libraries)  to  address  the  critically  important  

components  to  third-­‐grade  reading  success  —  school  readiness,  regular  attendance  and  summer  

learning.  For  example,  that  plan  could  include  any  and  all  of  the  following:    

 

•   Launch  a  multi-­‐pronged  messaging  campaign  and  outreach  effort  to  ensure  that  public  housing-­‐

affiliated  parents,  caregivers,  child  care  providers  and  early  educators  have  ready  access  to  the  

information,  tools  and  supports  that  can  help  build  essential  competencies  that  promote  early  

literacy  and  the  healthy  development  of  the  children  in  their  care.  This  is  because  we  know  

parents  and  caregivers  are  critical  stakeholders  in  assuring  that  young  children  are  healthy  and  

ready  for  school.  This  may  include:    

o   Engaging  in  nurturing  and  affirming  “back  and  forth”  interaction  necessary  for  healthy  

brain  development;  

o   Enriching  their  children’s  vocabulary  and  promoting  a  love  for  reading;  

o   Tracking  and  assessing  progress  toward  early  developmental  milestones;  

o   Engaging  children  in  enriching  summer  activities  at  home  or  in  the  community;  

         

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o   Raising  awareness  about  the  connection  between  chronic  absence  in  the  early  years  and  

lower  levels  of  achievement  in  reading;  

o   Using  technology  to  facilitate  ongoing  learning,  especially  during  the  summer  months;  

and  

o   Encouraging,  supporting  and  modeling  healthy  eating  and  fitness  during  the  summer.  

 

•   Launch  a  multi-­‐pronged  community-­‐wide  attendance  awareness  campaign  using  anchor  events  

such  as  Attendance  Awareness  Month,  parent/teacher  conferences,  PTA  meetings  and  back-­‐to-­‐

school  nights  to  help  parents  and  caregivers  understand  and  own  the  importance  of  good  

attendance,  and  to  nurture  a  culture  and  cultivate  the  habits  of  excellent  attendance  and  

establish  an  expectation  and  a  plan  for  daily  school  attendance.  

 

•   Support  the  development  of  early  warning  and  rapid  response  systems  to  reduce  and  prevent  

chronic  absence  and  strategies  to  identify  and  ameliorate  the  health  challenges  that  are  the  

major  contributors  to  chronic  absence,  so  that  parents  and  caregivers  can  recognize  and  address  

health  needs  and  environmental  hazards  in  the  home  and  seek  intervention  and  support  at  the  

earliest  signs  of  attendance  issues.  

 

•   Participate  in  data-­‐sharing  agreements  with  local  public  sector  agencies  including  school  

districts,  health  departments  and  other  partners  to  track  attendance  and  early  childhood  

benchmarks  such  as  prenatal  care;  primary  preventive  health  care,  including  dental  and  mental  

health;  and  asthma  management.    

 

By  using  the  HUD/GLR  Campaign  MOU  approach  suggested  above,  HUD  can  maximize  the  impact  on  

educational  outcomes  in  the  MTW  demonstration  and  expansion.  We  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  to  

provide  comments.