Q&A: The latest on Oregon’s race to improve reading

Oregon’s effort to overhaul reading instruction is reaching a critical point as educators await allocations and final guidelines from the state.

Last year, Oregon launched its new vision for how to teach the state’s youngest learners to read and write. The Early Literacy Success Initiative reoriented efforts around research-backed approaches to reading, bolstered by the passing of House Bill 3198 , which allocated more than $100 million to the cause.

Oregon Public Broadcasting, a news partner of the Pamplin Media Group, conducted a Q&A with Angelica Cruz, the state’s first director of literacy, who began the role last fall, and Jennifer Patterson, the assistant superintendent for the Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at the Oregon Department of Education, to learn more about where the initiative is now and what to expect moving forward.