Literacy should be the door that opens up a lifetime of learning, but for too many children, it's the barrier that keeps them from learning.

With that realization in mind, hundreds of educators from around the state gathered recently to discuss ways to improve literacy throughout a student's education — hence, the symposium's title: "P-16 Literacy."

More than a dozen educational groups, colleges and support services — including NYSUT — helped develop the symposium last month at the State University of New York at Albany.

Literacy experts talked about new assessment techniques, curriculum aimed at improving literacy, literacy challenges for English language learners and the need to address literacy at the higher education level and among students with disabilities.

NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira, who oversees initiatives by the union that involve educational policy, was a member of the panel that discussed literacy and assessment.

She focused on the "very special literacy needs" of English language learners, children for whom English is not the native language, or for whom English is not the primary language at home.

"Literacy development is a particular challenge for English language learners, especially those who enter the educational system in later grades," Neira told the gathering.

"Many have fewer years to master the English language. Newcomers are not the only students struggling. Some English language learners have grown up in the U.S., but for various reasons, have not developed the degree of academic literacy needed for success," she said.

Neira recommended a number of approaches that are based on research, such as building on the students' first language strengths, because literacy skills transfer from the native language to English.

But she also urged changes in federal policy that would take into consideration the literacy challenges students face as they are learning English. Among her suggestions:

• Change the federal policy that requires English language learners to take the New York State English Language Arts Assessment a year and a day after entering a New York state school;
• Use multiple measures to assess students' language skills;
• Adjust federal accountability measures to avoid penalizing schools and districts that allow English language learners to take more than the traditional four years to successfully complete high school.

Other panelists talked about literacy beyond the K-12 years, and noted they are still trying to overcome a persistent but outdated belief that literacy is something students deal with only in early childhood.

"Developing literacy is everyone's job," said Daniel Liebert, principal and chief academic officer at Tech Valley High School in Troy, who spoke as part of the panel on "Literacy, Higher Education and the Workplace."

"The expectation that every adult on campus is responsible for the literacy of all students needs to become part of everyone's expectations and norms," Liebert said.