“Fierce” urgency needed to address reading performance | After School with Dr. Tony Watlington Sr.

Have you seen the recent viral “Can you read?” TikTok that exploded for over 15 million views? The montage doesn’t reflect well on the reading aptitude of Philadelphia high school students, who are shown in the video struggling to read simple sentences and words on index cards. Dr. Tony Watlington Sr. told KYW Newsradio Education Reporter Mike DeNardo he hasn’t seen the clip, but the superintendent also didn’t back down from sharing impassioned thoughts about the message the video implies, and how the district intends to address its reading performance scores. The superintendent also discusses the impending vote on the district’s annual budget, as well as returns the district has received on a million-dollar AI contract. 00:00 Expectations and goals ahead of this week’s district budget vote 02:04 Assessment of $1.4 million contract with firm behind district’s AI website chatbot feature 03:53 Response to viral “Can you read?” TikTok video Have a question for Dr. Watlington? Email us at afterschool@kywnewsradio.com and listen for a response on future episodes of "After School!” Catch the show on the air every Wednesday at 3:45 PM ET on KYW Newsradio 103.9 FM.