Hastings is in Michigan, and Michigan learning standards can be found at: www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-28753---,00.html (For some reason, when I copy/paste the URL into this site, it doesn't remain an active link, but you can get to it via www.michigan.gov/mde by clicking on the blue "curriculum and instruction" box on the left side of the page.)

You're not asking the wrong question so much as you're asking a sensitive question and principals will want to give it the briefest answer possible and then get off the phone. People have Strong Feelings about education and principals make some statement and the next day their school is being picketed by angry parents - it's simply not possible in modern times for everybody to be happy with every aspect of their child's school. If a principal says his school is about the 'basics', someone will start a hue and cry about 'enrichment' and if he says his curriculum is 'enriched', someone will shout him down demanding they stick to the basics.

There's a general mistrust of modern education - we've become a very questioning people in regard to our schools. One way for you to really know is to go in and see for yourself. See if the school uses basal readers or trade books. Your 4th grader should be on their way to reading and there is little phonetic instruction that's offered past 3rd grade but that's because we begin phoenetic instruction now at age 3 in preschool. In the old days, we didn't begin phonics until 1st grade and so it continued on until 4th, 5th and even 6th but now Kindergarten is the place where children are expected to learn to read if they haven't already.

Go and observe if you possibly can in their Kindergartens but you could save yourself a trip just by reading the Maryland standards and those are readily available on-line. Modern education is all about standards and Maryland's standards will delineate their approach to reading.

I'm not from Hastings, MI so I can't answer for sure, but my feeling is that your 3rd grader isn't likely to get much phonics intruction wherever he/she goes, because pretty much by the end of 3rd grade/beginning of 4th, schools don't emphasize learning to read as much as expecting children to be reading in order to learn.
For your younger child, finding a kindergarten that utilizes some phonics instruction is more important. Again, while I'm not in Hastings, MI, but I'll speak based on what I've seen, to say that the amount of phonics your child receives may be more dependent on the teacher's own expertise than anything else. Yes, some curriculums may utilize certain types of books, but many teachers who were trained in the years that "whole language" was the rage simply didn't get much exposure to phonics instructional methods. They may not be as comfortable using that approach as more "experienced" teachers... that may be part of the reason why the principals you've talked to aren't giving you "cut and dried" answers, but are inviting you to come into classrooms and visit, to see for yourself what they offer.

Thank you for your responses...I apologize for not being more clear with my question. I was not implying a lack of phonics across the country, I am searching for a school in the Hastings, MI area. Our family is moving there after the first of the year. Our children attend a small charter school now and we absolutely love every aspect of it. Unfortunately, life has us beginning a new journey and I am searching to find a new school we can become part of. I am struggling with my search for a school that offers a combined reading approach with a strong phonics base. I have spoken to four different elementary principals and have yet to be given a straight answer about how much phonics is used. I have been given different curriculums to look up or asked to just come in for a tour....not the answers I was hoping for...Am I asking the wrong questions? I have a third grader, in the top group of fourth grade reading and a 4 yr old who has just started Y'5's...We work on their phonics/reading at home but also want to be on the same page as the elementary school we choose...

A great many schools - I'd say even most - offer phonics-based reading programs. The stories otherwise have been much exaggerated. Modern education offers a combination of approaches to reading but phonics is the basis.
In my childhood, it was pure phonics to the point where the books we read weren't really books - Dick and Jane, Alice and Jerry - those stories were phonics readers or basal readers.
Today it's thought that children should also be reading real books or trade books with exciting stories and real plots. We shouldn't mistake the use of real children's literature in the classroom as a rejection of phonics as the primary basis of reading instruction.

Ask any school you're interested in - do you use basal readers or trade books? Most schools these days will say they use both and using both is a good approach to teaching children to read and having them appreciate reading.

Hi. I'm not in MI, but to answer your question in broad terms, yes, across the U.S., some schools do still provide phonics instruction. I have a feeling you want a more detailed answer than that, so I hope you'll help us to understand exactly what you're asking. Are you moving to Hastings, MI and are asking about whether any of their public schools offer phonics based reading instruction, like you have wherever you currently live? Are you willing to look at private schools? What grade level is your child?