When the Streets Are Loud: Why Literacy Is a Matter of Urgency

Grateful to have Deon Butler with us this week. His message was clear: the streets are loud, but education has to be louder. Powerful conversations with our students that we won’t forget.

This week, we had the privilege of welcoming Deon Butler into our schools. Deon is a former NFL player who learned how to read at the age of 27. He is now a motivational speaker and author of the book A Gift and a Curse.

He spoke to our middle school students. He sat with our high school readers. He told the truth.

And one line has stayed with me.

“The streets are calling. And it’s loud.”

That line has been echoing in my mind ever since. Because he’s right.

For too many of our students, especially those who struggle to read, there are competing voices. School is one voice. The future is one voice. Opportunity is one voice.

But sometimes the streets are louder.

And when a student cannot read, cannot access text, cannot fully participate in what the school is offering, those other voices begin to fade.

The Reality We Have to Name

We cannot talk about literacy as just an academic issue.

Literacy is a life outcome.

Students who struggle with reading are more likely to experience:

• Academic failure across content areas

• Chronic absenteeism

• Disengagement from school

• Limited access to postsecondary opportunities

A significant percentage of individuals who are incarcerated have low literacy levels. In many cases, they were struggling readers long before they ever entered the justice system. What we often call the school-to-prison pipeline is deeply connected to early reading failure.

If students cannot read, school becomes a place of frustration, not success. And when that happens, they begin to look elsewhere for identity, belonging, and validation.

That is where the streets get louder.

Schools Cannot Age Out of Teaching Reading

Deon shared that he graduated from high school reading on a fourth-grade level. I've heard Deon speak a few times now, and every time, I hear people ask, "How could that happen? How could someone graduate high school reading on a fourht-grade level?"

And yet, too often, that is exactly what happens.

Students move from grade to grade. They pass courses. They earn credits.

But they are not actually able to read the texts in front of them.

We have built systems that can move students forward without guaranteeing that they have the most foundational skills required to access life beyond school.

And when that happens, we are not preparing students. We are simply passing them through.

Schools cannot age out of teaching students how to read.

What Deon Butler Reminded Us

Deon didn't just talk about football. He talked about struggle. He talked about choices. He talked about the moments where things could have gone differently.

He talked about his active decision to choose school over drugs and to ask for help when he needed it.

He made it clear that:

• Reading matters

• Education matters

• The decisions students make now matter

• The people you surround yourself with matter

Deon was lucky. He had football to help carry him through. Not all kids are so lucky. We can talk about perseverance. We can talk about grit. We can talk about making good choices.

But if a student is sitting in a classroom unable to read the text in front of them, we are not giving them a fair shot at those choices.

Students cannot choose what they cannot access.

So the Question Becomes

How do we make school louder than the streets?

How do we build systems, classrooms, and experiences that are strong enough, clear enough, and consistent enough to compete with everything else our students are hearing?

What Schools Can Do to Break the Cycle

1. Ensure Every Student Learns to Read

Not some. Every.

2. Do Not Stop at Elementary School

Secondary literacy is not optional. It is essential.

3. Build Knowledge and Language Every Day

Reading is understanding. Not just decoding.

4. Protect Time and Instruction

Consistency over chaos.

5. Create Success and Belonging

Students stay where they feel capable.

6. Don't work in isolation

Schools need to partner with the community - it takes a village

Calling Louder

Deon Butler’s words were not just a reflection. They were a call to action.

If the streets are loud, then we have to be louder.

Not with noise.

With action.

We cannot let students leave our system unable to read. We cannot hand them a diploma that does not open doors.

We have to mean it when we say all students.

Because when we do these things, something shifts.

The future starts to call louder than the streets.

When we know better, we teach better.

See you next Sunday!

References

Moats, L. C. (2020). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers (3rd ed.). Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2022 results. U.S. Department of Education.

Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2010). Early warning! Why reading by the end of third grade matters.

National Institute of Justice. (n.d.). Education and correctional populations.

The Sentencing Project. (2019). Education and incarceration.

Shanahan, T. (2020). The science of reading: The basics.

Wexler, N. (2019). The knowledge gap: The hidden cause of America’s broken education system—and how to fix it. Avery.