Wielding chainsaws, they helped the 97-year-old former Colorado governor clear out fallen timber this year to make a path for some four wheelers. 

鈥淭hey just enjoyed the working relationship back then, and they enjoy the friendship now,鈥� Romer said in a recent interview. 

But when they finish the day鈥檚 projects, it鈥檚 not unusual for the group to relax over wine and cheese and trade war stories about Romer鈥檚 tenure. Under his leadership, the district saw several years of steady gains in reading on both and . Fighting bureaucracy and a powerful teachers union, he required elementary schools to use Open Court, a phonics-based program that embraced what is known today as the science of reading. The district trained teachers to use it and hired reading specialists to make sure they stuck to the curriculum. 

鈥淔or six years, we concentrated on that. It was the most important thing we did,鈥� Romer said. But the teacher鈥檚 union chafed against the program鈥檚 rigid design and eventually demanded over the curriculum. 鈥淭hey didn’t want us to be screwing around in classrooms. They wanted the door shut. We forced those doors open.鈥�

Nearly 20 years later, those stories have a new relevance as reading scores are once again on the rise. The current superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, has taken a similar, top-down approach to literacy with a program from curriculum provider Amplify. District leaders say they鈥檝e learned from the past about the dangers of a lockstep approach to teaching reading, but some wonder whether teachers are getting the support they need. 

Tackling a new curriculum is 鈥渘ot an easy shift, and the ongoing support is needed,鈥� said Francisco Villegas, chief academic officer at the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit that manages 20 high-need schools in the district. 鈥淭here are fewer dollars, and that likely will have implications for what the district is able to provide.鈥� 

The Partnership schools adopted the Amplify program in 2018-19 and began to see in English language arts on the state test. Since 2022, seven of the Partnership鈥檚 11 elementary schools have seen double-digit increases in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards. At a in September, Carvalho called the Partnership a 鈥渢errific incubator鈥� that influenced the district鈥檚 curriculum choices. 

But systemwide, leaders are to balance the budget and layoffs are expected. Compared to the Open Court years, training on the reading curriculum districtwide is more 鈥渉it or miss,鈥� said Maria Nichols, president of the district鈥檚 principals union. LAUSD offers opportunities, both online and in-person, for professional development. School leaders, however, often don鈥檛 know which courses teachers have taken or whether they鈥檙e using what they鈥檝e learned, she said. 鈥淲e are PD rich and implementation poor.鈥�

鈥極n the same page鈥�

Romer鈥檚 team implemented Open Court at a time when was pouring millions into training to teach reading. A $133 million from the U.S. Department of Education provided even more. Nearly all of the district鈥檚 12,000 elementary school teachers participated in and many completed follow-up sessions throughout the year.

鈥淚t was phenomenal,鈥� Nichols said. 鈥淲e were treated as professionals. There was a lot of money back then.鈥�

Former board members, among Romer鈥檚 annual visitors, said Open Court was a way to ensure all students, in an urban district where kids often change schools, would receive strong instruction. Marlene Canter, who served on the board from 2002 through 2008, said that regardless of teachers鈥� level of experience or the college they attended, 鈥渆verybody would be on the same page.鈥�

For some teachers, that played out literally. Many found Open Court . There was a specific set of cards with letter sounds to post on the wall and a recommended U-shaped classroom layout that, according to a teacher guide, left 鈥渁 large open space on the floor for whole-group and individual activities鈥� and provided 鈥渁n easy 鈥榳alk-around鈥� for the teacher.鈥� Critics viewed the , deployed to ensure teachers followed the curriculum, as 鈥淥pen Court police鈥� ready to catch them veering off script. 

鈥淭hey took my fun and creativity away,鈥� former teacher Stuart Goldurs complained in a . 鈥淚 became an instructional robot.鈥� 

Ronni Ephraim, who served as Romer鈥檚 chief instructional officer, said the change upset some teachers. The district asked them to replace storybooks that had been favorites in their classrooms for years with Open Court phonics-based 鈥渞eaders,鈥� workbooks and classroom libraries. Despite the objections, the district saw struggling schools improve and outpace the state. 

鈥淚 don’t think top-down is bad,鈥� Ephraim, now a consultant, said about curriculum choices. 鈥淚 think the board and the superintendent have to believe in it, and then they have to make sure that everybody is prepared to teach it as designed.鈥�

鈥楤ig disconnect鈥�

Critics said the program was ineffective with English learners. Over time, performance flatlined, and the district replaced Open Court with a program. 

Rob Rucker is among the LAUSD teachers who worked for the district during the Open Court years and is now adjusting to Core Knowledge Language Arts. A third grade teacher at 135th Elementary School in Gardena, one of several small cities within the district鈥檚 boundaries, he said some novice teachers valued Open Court鈥檚 structure. They didn鈥檛 yet have enough experience to write lesson plans of their own.

鈥淚 actually liked Open Court,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was very straightforward and easy for teachers to understand.鈥�

The Amplify program still covers the basic skills students need to decode words and recognize parts of speech. It鈥檚 also what reading experts describe as a knowledge-building curriculum. The units introduce students to early civilizations, like the Vikings in Scandinavia, and science content, such as the solar system and animal habitats.

That鈥檚 where Open Court fell short, said Nichols, with the principals鈥� union.

鈥淲hen we tested kids, they could read beautifully,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut they couldn’t understand what they were reading.鈥�

For a student population like LAUSD鈥檚, with 86% living in poverty and one in five still learning English, strengthening kids鈥� knowledge of the world is 鈥済oing to be the real game changer,鈥� said Barbara Davidson, president of StandardsWork, a think tank, and executive director of the Knowledge Matters Campaign. Since 2015, the campaign has been a leading voice for integrating history, science and the arts into reading curriculum. 

Rucker said his students were already familiar with stories like 鈥淎lice in Wonderland鈥� and 鈥淎laddin,鈥� so it wasn鈥檛 hard to keep them interested in a lesson on classic fairy tales. Getting them to relate to lessons on ancient Rome has been more challenging.

According to a district spokesperson, 鈥渢he goal is to ensure that every school has access to the literacy expertise and coaching capacity it needs.鈥� But other than a two-day training from Amplify, Rucker said he hasn鈥檛 had any additional support on how to implement the program, he said. He thinks his school would benefit from an English language arts coordinator teachers could lean on when they need someone with more experience, but because of enrollment loss, many schools have lost administrative positions. 

Some teachers feel Amplify is out of reach for struggling students, leading them to patch in other materials to make the material more relevant. 

During a recent lesson on early American irrigation systems, Kareli Rodriguez, who teaches at Stoner Ave. Elementary School on the west side of town, used pictures and videos to help her fifth graders grasp the idea. Excitement over the Dodgers鈥� successful World Series run helped her pique kids鈥� interest in a passage on Yankees鈥� relief pitcher Mariano Rivera.

But it鈥檚 鈥渘ot realistic,鈥� she said, for teachers to get through a lesson in the recommended 90-minute time slot with so many students working below grade level. A district coach modeled a lesson for the teachers last school year, Rodriguez said, but she couldn鈥檛 finish it in time either.

鈥淚 think that’s a big disconnect that the district needs to understand,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely rigorous, but most of the students are always playing catch up.鈥�

Still, like most other schools in the district, Stoner Avenue saw improvements in reading. Fifty-two percent of fifth graders met or exceeded expectations, compared to 41% last year. 

Literacy advocates hope those gains will convince leaders 鈥� as Romer did with Open Court 鈥� to stick with Amplify. 鈥淥ur push is going to be to say, 鈥榊ou got to stay the course,鈥� 鈥� said Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a nonprofit that for research-backed teaching materials. Her group breaks down the science of reading for parents so they鈥檒l know how to talk to teachers about the curriculum and help their kids at home.

District leaders gathered in October to celebrate the district鈥檚 recent improvement. Outside the auditorium at Maywood Elementary School, as students rushed back to class after lunch, Deputy Superintendent Karla Estrada took a moment to talk about lessons learned since the Open Court years, like taking feedback from teachers.

The district, she said, wants them to follow the Amplify curriculum 鈥渨ith integrity鈥� while recognizing they often have to make decisions in the moment, depending on their students. 

鈥淭hey let me know where something is not quite what they want,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut no curriculum is going to do everything for you.鈥�