From L-R: Harney Education Service District (HESD) Superintendent Shannon Criss; HESD Integrated Guidance Specialist Crystal Hussey; Dr. Tania McKey, director of partnerships at Ignite Reading; Jessica Silwerski, CEO of Ignite Reading and featured in the movie The Right To Read; Dr. Ronda Fritz, Eastern Oregon University Reading Clinic and associate professor; and Mindy Gould, KZHC radio talk show host.

On Monday, Aug. 14, Harney Education Service District (HESD) sponsored the showing of the film The Right To Read. Learning to read is a civil right and is the foundation of success for all students.

As Shannon Criss, HESD superintendent stated, “Watching a child read is magic; teaching them to read is science.”

Technology has advanced, and we are now able to watch the brain as it learns to read. The message is clear: Reading must be taught in a systematic and structured way. And it all begins with our kids learning how to produce sounds and then attach letters to those sounds.

Oregon recently passed legislation that will grant funds to schools to provide scientifically, evidence-based reading to all of our students.

“Just as learning to read is a lifelong journey, so is learning how to teach reading.”

The ESD was fortunate to be able to bring three esteemed colleagues to Burns to moderate a discussion following the film. These ladies joined Mindy Gould on the Harney County Live radio program to discuss the science behind learning to read.

Crystal Hussey, integrated guidance specialist and a reading mentor, gave special thanks to Tiny Pedersen for generously donating the Desert Historic Theatre for the showing and to Mindy Gould at KZHC for hosting the discussion on Harney County Live.