Don’t Close the Book on Literacy Clinic : * For the Good of All, UC Irvine Must Find a Way to Keep Its Vital Reading Program

UC Irvine should reconsider its decision to shut down its Reading and Neurolinguistic Clinic, which will close Dec. 30 unless it is granted a reprieve. The clinic identifies and helps correct learning disabilities related to problems with reading--the basic building block for all education. But at least, at long last, literacy is getting national attention, in part through the efforts of First Lady Barbara Bush.

The clinic was established five years ago and since has worked one-on-one with about 130 children and adults. Anecdotes abound: the boy who was thought not to be educable who, after attending the clinic, enrolled in a college prep program; the now-bookish 8-year-old girl whose parents thought she would be illiterate, and many more.

But individual success stories are not all UCI had in mind when the clinic was established, as it turns out. UCI saw the clinic’s mission as conducting research in literacy and helping to train would-be teachers and medical professionals. It also was thought initially that the clinic would reach out into the community to serve thousands of reading-impaired students. After review, UCI decided there were other programs that, on balance, were a higher priority.

In its first few years, founder and coordinator Ann Kaganoff tackled the job of getting the clinic on its feet, including finding a place off-campus, at Rancho San Joaquin Intermediate School in Irvine, for it to operate. She also worked with others around the state who either operated clinics or wanted to establish them.

In hindsight, Kaganoff, who also is on UCI’s teacher education faculty, probably should have concentrated more on developing teacher training programs. And there should have been more emphasis on researching and writing articles on the clinic’s findings regarding literacy, to put the clinic more in step with the university’s primary missions.

Kaganoff says she should have sought more grants. Most of the clinic’s $100,000 budget has come from client fees and fund-raisers. But UCI’s contribution--$25,000 a year for Kaganoff’s half-time position plus some other expenses--is essential to the clinic.

These are tough budgetary times in which UCI, like many institutions, must set priorities. Some programs, even important ones, may have to yield to other needs. But, now that the clinic has built a foundation, the university should try to find a way to keep it. Once it is dismantled, a valuable resource will be lost to the community, perhaps forever.