EAG Creates Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin
By Judy Fitzgerald, Tracy Frank, and Shel Gross
For the past few years, the Education Advocacy Group (EAG) of the Racial Justice for All Children Task Force (RJAC) has focused on early literacy education and identifying students with dyslexia as high priority ways to narrow the school-to-prison pipeline. For decades, many children have not been taught with practices supported by what scientists have learned from the neuropsychological research on reading. Children not reading at grade level fall further and further behind as the material becomes more complex, and this can result in behavior issues, withdrawal, and/or emotional turmoil. A substantial portion of juvenile detainees are functionally illiterate, as are about 75% of incarcerated individuals, making it harder for them to take part in employment opportunities or civil society.
With this knowledge, MOSES took an official position in favor of Act 20, also known as the Right-to-Read Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Evers on July 19, 2023. The position’s first two sentences have been the guideposts for the EAG’s work:
- MOSES treasures the education and well-being of all our citizens, but most especially our treasured children.
- MOSES believes that schools should be held accountable for teaching children to read.
Act 20 changed the way that Wisconsin children are taught to read, to align with reading science. It also changed the way that teachers are trained, requiring them to have completed an approved course in the linguistic foundations of reading. Literacy coaches are prescribed for the lowest performing districts. Screening tests are required three times a year for grades K5-3, and the results are to be communicated to the parents or guardians. If a student scores in the lowest 25%, a diagnostic assessment must be performed and a personalized reading plan (PRP) provided to the parents or guardians. An Early Literacy Curriculum Council (ELCC) was formed to choose the most effective curricula for districts to adopt, so that they could receive up to 50% reimbursement for their cost outlay. Importantly, the new law also requires districts to screen for dyslexia, if requested by a parent, guardian, or teacher.
Due to a legal dispute between the governor and the legislature, the roughly $50 million allotted for implementation of Act 20 was not released until July 2025. But now the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will be able to hire literacy coaches, reimburse districts for curriculum purchases, and support teacher training.
The delay did not keep RJAC from advocating for the local adoption of Act 20 measures over the past two years. We met with school board members, administrators, and DPI staff to learn about implementation and to hold all parties accountable for it.
When several members of RJAC provided in-person testimony in the summer of 2023 in support of Act 20, seeds for important relationships with other state literacy advocates and organizations were planted. The EAG recognized that though these groups share an interest in improving early literacy education and preservice teacher training, they might not be familiar with each other’s work. While organizations need to focus on their own core missions, MOSES understands that “organized people” are key to developing our power to impact policy. This understanding led Tracy Frank to create a listserv of literacy advocates and organizations devoted to raising literacy rates in Wisconsin.
Tracy led the first virtual meeting of the Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin on July 17, 2025, to learn what everyone was already doing and to plot future direction. Early childhood education, increasing the supply of tutors, and monitoring implementation of Act 20 were identified as crucial parts of the equation. Several coalition members want to hold an event in the fall to raise public awareness of the literacy crisis. When future legislation or funding is needed, the Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin is now in place to communicate and coordinate advocacy. If you would like to be added to the listserve or to work on the fall event, email Tracy Frank at jtracyfrank@me.com.
This fall, as every year, there are multiple reasons why many children enter the new school year already behind. Though teachers now are better trained in more effective methods, they still have the stress of teaching students with a variety of reading levels and resources in one classroom. Trained volunteer literacy tutors lessen a teacher’s load by working one-on-one with the students in the bottom half who do not qualify for the services of the reading interventionist or special education teacher. An effective, trained volunteer literacy tutor can help change the trajectory of a young person’s life, away from the illiteracy-to-prison pipeline.
While MOSES is primarily an advocacy organization, we know many members of MOSES member congregations are moved to provide direct service in a variety of ways. If that is you, check the sidebar and consider one of the many volunteer literacy tutor training opportunities in Madison.
Literacy Tutoring Opportunities
The following organizations provide training and placement for literacy tutors. We do not know the current status of training slots at each organization. If you would like to talk about tutoring in general please feel free to contact Judy Fitzgerald, judithfitzgerald@fsm.northwestern.edu or Tracy Frank, jtracyfrank@me.com.
Goodman Center – START Literacy Initiative
Iris Patterson: (608) 204-8014; ipatterson@goodmancenter.org
https://www.goodmancenter.org/children-teens/start-literacy
Children’s Dyslexia Center
Director Kelly Kuenzi: (608) 252-4922
https://www.childrensdyslexiacenters.org/services/
One City Schools: (608) 531-2128
Volunteer information here.
Note: Even though in-person tutor training took place in August, there are other ways to get involved if you are interested.
Schools of Hope: Madison
https://schoolsofhope.org/tutor/schools-of-hope-in-madison/
Schools of Hope provides tutors for:
Thoreau School – Madison
Fluency Tutor Program
(608) 204-6940
Lowell School – Madison
Literacy Tutor Program
(608) 204-6600