FREWSBURG – The Frewsburg Central School District is on board with the science of reading.

According to Superintendent Dr. Danielle Cook, in 2025, the New York State Education Department is mandating the science of reading in districts across the state.

“This is really an initiative to improve reading across the state,” Cook said. “We are required to have the science of reading in our primary grade levels (kindergarten through third grade) by 2025.”

The superintendent added that recently a committee was formed to discuss the NYS initiative. The district’s goal, she said, is to ensure all students are reading.

“It was a very productive meeting,” Cook said.

According to governor.ny.gov, in April, Gov. Kathy Hochul touted the initiative to improve reading across the state, and as a part of the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted NYS budget, Hochul signed legislation to ensure evidence-based reading instruction is used in classrooms to improve reading proficiency. Part of Hochul’s education plan is to provide nearly $36 billion in school aid, including $24.9 billion in foundation aid. Hochul’s plan also invests $10 million to train 20,000 teachers in instructional best practices and expands

The State University of New York and the City University of New York micro credentialing programs for teachers focused on the science of reading.

“Reading is one of the most fundamental skills students need to learn, but currently our kids are not meeting basic reading proficiency levels,” Hochul said. “With this budget, we’re throwing out debunked reading instruction practices and getting back to basics, using phonics, reading comprehension and other effective techniques to set our kids up for success.”

One of the key ideas, NYSED said, is the science of reading refers to a body of research — 50-plus years of interdisciplinary research that documents and describes how children develop reading and writing skills and competencies. The research also features the principles and practices for research-based instructional design and opportunities to learn.

“The science of reading is best practices in reading instruction,” Cook noted.

For more information on the science of reading visit nysed.gov