(The Center Square) – The woman who was almost Wisconsin’s state superintendent of schools says 2026 needs to be the year that the adults in charge of education in the state do their part to help children read.
Brittany Kinser, who lost the 2024 race for superintendent and now leads Kids Win Wisconsin, said 2026 starts the second year since Act 20 was supposed to overhaul how teachers teach kids how to read.
But, she said, it hasn’t.
“Nearly 100,000 early-grade students, or 36.8%, were identified as at risk for reading difficulties. In first grade alone, 47% of students fell below the reading benchmark,” Kinser wrote in her latest Kids Win Wisconsin newsletter.
She, however, doesn’t blame the kids.
“We know what works. When the science of reading is fully implemented early, children succeed. What’s left now is adult responsibility – following through on implementation, being honest about results, and restoring high academic standards,” Kinser told TCS.
Act 20 is supposed to retrain teachers, with a focus on the science of reading, to boost student reading levels by the fourth grade. But its roll out has been slow, and in some places scattered.
Official training began in July, and not every teacher has completed the course.
Some school districts say it is expensive to comply with the new law, and some have said they would not have changed anything about their reading lessons unless forced to by the state.
Kinser said that puts even more focus on adult decisions in Wisconsin’s schools.
“Kids don’t control schools or policy – adults do. And adults have to take responsibility when kids can’t read,” Kinder added. “Our kids have all the potential in the world. They deserve adults who are willing to match that potential with high expectations and real accountability so 95% of children can read well and build a bright future.”
Kinser’s Kids Win Wisconsin has an online tool that shows parents just how well their kids’ school is doing with literacy proficiency.
