By Matthew E. Milliken

mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684

DURHAM -- Durham's school district will maintain its current reading program, school board Chairwoman Minnie Forte-Brown says.

"The board stands behind our administrators," Forte-Brown said toward the end of a 15-minute oration on literacy instruction at Thursday's monthly school board meeting. "They are the experts. We are staying the course. We have heard from our critics. We have made adjustments. We are staying the course. Evaluations will be made ... and, if needed, adjustments will be made, but for now Reading Street is one of the curriculum choices for Durham Public Schools."

Forte-Brown's comments were a response to a series of Herald-Sun stories examining the district's balanced literacy framework and in particular the Reading Street curriculum. The district's adoption of a district-wide elementary reading program that standardizes instructional goals across schools and emphasizes Reading Street has prompted criticism from parents.

The parents say the program stifles teacher creativity and fails to offer enough ways to help learners of different levels, among other things.

The school board chairwoman, whose comments appeared to have her colleagues' unspoken support, acknowledged that complaints prompted by late-summer reading program adjustments had led to teachers gaining more flexibility. But she essentially dismissed lingering criticism.

"The question asked in The Herald-Sun on Sunday was if we were traveling down the right street with Reading Street," Forte-Brown stated. "A few, and I do mean a few, parents, teachers and university professors say no."

Forte-Brown reminded listeners that the district found itself with fewer than half of students in some grades passing state reading tests after they were adjusted in 2008. During the 2008-09 school year, she noted, literacy scores rose, although around half of students continue to read below grade level.

So far this year, the chairwoman said, "preliminary results show improvement beyond our expectations."

Forte-Brown also spent several minutes quoting and elaborating upon a "frequently asked questions" document about the district's literacy program.

Later, Club Boulevard Elementary teacher Jeni Foote, a veteran second-grade instructor, addressed the board during a public comment period. Her statement appeared to be an oblique criticism of the new reading program.

"For the first time in 17 years, I feel very limited autonomy, and I'm not empowered to share my gifts as a teacher," Foote said. Her remarks were applauded.

School board member Kirsten Kainz, over the whispered objections of Forte-Brown, broke from protocol by replying directly to Foote. "That courage that you just demonstrated, Ms. Foote," she said, "will have a ripple effect. It's not lost. It's not lost on us."

The audience somewhat hesitantly applauded Kainz's comment.

Natalie Beyer, an opponent of the district's reading program, said she hoped Kainz was indicating that the board is listening to teachers, who have been mainly hesitant to criticize the curriculum openly. She called for a forum for teachers to speak without fear of retribution about the program.

"We're a quarter of the way through the school year and the teachers still have not been heard," said Beyer, who has a daughter at Club Boulevard and two sons at Pearson Middle.

Ann Rebeck, a Club Boulevard parent, agreed. "Despite what the board thinks I believe [Foote] represents the feelings of many, many teachers in the Durham Public Schools since the implementation of Reading Street," Rebeck said. "I'm hopeful that her bravery will lead others to speak their minds."

After Forte-Brown spoke, departing Superintendent Carl Harris praised Durham teachers who have attained or are seeking to become National Board Certified Teachers, considered the gold standard of teaching accreditation. Rebeck and Beyer found the juxtaposition ironic.

"It is my concern that it is just that high-caliber teacher who will not choose to remain in Durham Public Schools under the Reading Street mandate," she said.

Unlike Forte-Brown, Beyer did not interpret improved reading scores as evidence that the district-wide curriculum is having an effect. She instead credited the rise to increased amounts of time spent teaching literacy.

Jennifer Minnelli, an E.K. Powe Elementary parent, said she "was struck by the fact ... that DPS is attributing the spike in benchmarks to Reading Street without having any data on [teacher] fidelity to [program] implementation or real teacher feedback."