During our 10 years of existence, Springboard Collaborative has worked to lessen the literacy gap in scores of school districts and hundreds of schools all around the country. Through the years, we’ve had a front-row seat in witnessing how education in this country has evolved. Recently our CEO, Alejandro Gibes de Gac, and our former President, Aubrey White, sat down to reflect on Springboard’s growth and discuss the changes in education that they’ve seen.
While the pandemic tops many people’s lists of impactful moments in education, we looked beyond that to highlight changes in curriculum, teaching strategies, and overall climate in the teaching profession. One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is in how reading is being taught. At Springboard, we noted an increase in the acceptance of the science of reading – both from teachers and researchers. In fact, according to the Hechinger Report, eighteen states and the District of Columbia have said they’ll use federal funds to train teachers in the science of reading or change the way they teach reading. Connecticut, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Delaware wrote the “science of reading” into state law this year which will provide additional professional development for teachers to use this approach more effectively in their classrooms.
Another big shift we’ve seen in 10 years is in the importance of social-emotional learning. We’re seeing growing interest in teaching our children foundational skills aimed at managing stress, treating others with respect and empathy, plus adjusting to being back in the classroom and working together. Schools and districts have reported spending an increase of 45% on social-emotional learning during 2021. A recent HMH Educator Confidence Report further reveals the need for additional resources to support SEL. 56% of teachers ranked the need for SEL resources as the number one need and this number is expected to continue to increase.
The final shift we’ve seen is in overall teacher satisfaction and burnout. While there are many reasons for this dissatisfaction, it’s been complicated even more by the pandemic as lockdowns and virtual learning add to teachers’ stress. Sadly, teachers are being asked to do more with little or no additional money or resources. In fact, teacher salaries have stagnated over the last decade and we are seeing a 19% weekly wage gap between teachers and other college-educated professionals. It’s no wonder why recent surveys revealed that 48% of teachers considered changing jobs in the past month and 32% of teachers were considering a job change. This poses a definite challenge to the educational system as teacher shortages are already impacting schools. The National Center for Education Statistics conducted a survey that revealed that 44% of public schools reported having teacher vacancies in 2022. This is something that Springboard keeps in mind as we partner with schools and districts to make sure we provide support and do not require additional resources that are already stressed to the max.
Even with all the changes that have taken place in education in the past ten years, Springboard has remained consistent in our mission to equip more students with grade-level reading skills by fourth grade. But we’ve adapted our approach over the years as well. We’ve improved our family workshops to teach families strategies and tips that align with the science of reading. We’ve also modernized our program to make it more accessible to both educators and families through technology. We’ve continuously updated the platform teachers are using and put all of our phonics instruction into a digital format. We are continuing to build out our technology capabilities to further serve schools and families in need.
Throughout our 10 years, we’ve been consistent in our mission of coaching teachers and family members to help kids read on grade level. We’ve helped schools dramatically improve outcomes by harnessing the untapped potential in family engagement. For over a decade, Springboard has coached teachers and parents to set goals together, practice evidence-based reading strategies, measure progress, and celebrate success. We call this framework FELA, or Family-Educator Learning Accelerator. FELAs are 5-10 week cycles during which teachers and parents share a game plan to help children reach learning goals. This methodology drives results and powers all of Springboard’s program offerings. To learn more about our Family-Educator Learning Accelerator, download our free toolkit.