photo courtesy of Black News
77-Year-Old Rosa Higgs, an English teacher out of Berkley, CA, released a phonics book this year being hailed as a new efficient way to improve reading. According to Black News, the Oakland Parks Director Valerie Winn praised the book and Higgs’s work with the kids as groundbreaking.
“The answer is the Higgs Foundation-sponsored Read in 40 or Less reading recovery method! Our children latched on and took off, thanks to this unique phonics approach that guarantees participants will unlock never-taught secrets and master reading by learning seven basic skills. Just seven!” Winn continued, “It was amazing! And all it took was 30 minutes a day, four days a week.”
A study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that up to 82% of Black 4th graders score below the proficient range for reading. It reported that Higgs was able to improve hundreds of Black and Brown kids’ reading proficiency in that small amount of time. Higgs improved their skills by three or four grade levels.
“I designed Read in 40 workbooks and videos to not only empower education professionals and community advocates who teach in groups,” Higgs explained her process. “This reading recovery course is so user-friendly, multi-sensory, phonetical-sound, and engaging that parents and their children can relax and enjoy the learning experience, together. What’s more, parents watch with amazement as their child gains so much confidence that he/she is eager to practice these phonic techniques on their own. Even encourage siblings to make reading a family affair.”
The book came out at an intrinsic time in the nation. With the Black student reading crisis persisting through the COVID-19 pandemic, Higgs found that more kids than ever needed more accessible linguistic teachings. Read in 40 or Less is evidence-based and is beginning to make a difference in Black students for what is essentially 4 out of 5 Black students who are below proficient in reading.