Manitowoc’s interim Superintendent of Public Schools has been on the job since July and made an appearance earlier this week on the WCUB Breakfast Club.
James Feil says the focus right now in the district is literacy.
“One of the main concerns there is it’s not our teachers, it’s the curriculum,” he explained. “Unfortunately, some of the new curriculums over the years have moved us away from phonics, phonetic awareness and it’s kind of brought us back to some new theories of whole language and that’s evolved to balanced literacy.”
Feil explains that there’s solid evidence that a focus on the science of reading or phonetics really works.
He told us, “We’re also looking to pilot a host school reform, which is evidence-based and nationally vetted in terms of what our districts have been successful for years doing.”
The Manitowoc superintendent said they recently had a virtual meeting with staff at Franklin Elementary and Washington Middle schools who are looking to pilot the Success For All Curriculum in an effort to improve literacy in our schools.
