Lit’s Post

Did you know that almost 70% of low-income 4th-grade students are below basic reading levels? This isn't just a statistic; it's a call to action. In their article for Getting Smart, Devin Vodicka and Katie Martin highlight the urgency of improving literacy rates, especially in underserved communities. The pandemic has intensified these challenges, and now is the time for a new approach. Literacy Launchpads reimagine elementary education, breaking free from traditional structures and placing literacy proficiency at the forefront. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/exFVB3ps

For more than a century, Knapp Elementary School has been a pillar of the Racine, WI community. "Today, of its 465 students, 85% are considered economically disadvantaged. More than half of parents lack a high school credential and neighborhood violence is a challenge. Proficiency rates have hovered between 8% and 12%." But every story has a turning point. Meet Richard Wytonick, the principal who ignited a transformation six years ago. He rallied his team to strengthen instructional practices and partnered with The United Way to provide vital services to their students, becoming the district's first community school. Then, the world faced an unprecedented challenge - the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the setbacks, Wytonick, Melissa Damaschke, and their team revamped early literacy teaching, inspired by the world's top education systems, focusing on data, assessment, and teacher collaboration. 📈 The results speak for themselves. 📈 From just 4 percent of first graders reading on grade level in 2022, to 42 percent by 2023. As we continue to support and learn from our partners like Racine Unified School District, let's lift up #SchoolLeaders who are reshaping the trajectory of their students in the realm of early literacy. NCEE's CEO Vicki Phillips with a story of #ImpactInAction and promising results: https://bit.ly/3EX8B0w

3 Reasons to Attend the Readmarkably Lit Early Literacy Conference   1.    Cutting-Edge Strategies for Early Literacy: At Readmarkably Lit Early Literacy Conference, teachers will gain access to the latest and most effective strategies for early literacy instruction. The conference will feature workshops and sessions led by experts in the field, providing practical insights and tools that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. Stay ahead of the curve and elevate your early literacy teaching practices with evidence-based approaches tailored to the unique needs of young learners. 2.    Networking and Collaboration Opportunities: This conference is not just about learning from experts but also about building a community of educators passionate about early literacy. Attendees will have the chance to connect with like-minded teachers, share experiences, and exchange ideas. Collaborative learning is a powerful tool, and Readmarkably Lit Early Literacy Conference for Prek and Kindergarten teachers provides a platform for teachers to network, discuss challenges, and explore innovative solutions together. Forge valuable connections that can continue to support your teaching journey long after the conference concludes.   3.    Inspiration for Motivated Teaching: Readmarkably Lit Early Literacy Conference aims to inspire and motivate teachers in their crucial role as literacy influencers. Engaging keynote speakers and thought-provoking sessions will reignite passion for teaching, providing a fresh perspective on the impact educators can have on early literacy development. Attendees will leave the conference not only with new skills but also with renewed enthusiasm, ready to create a positive and lasting impact on the literacy journey of their young students. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your early literacy toolkit, connect with fellow educators, and leave inspired to make a difference in the lives of your students. Join us at Readmarkably Lit Early Literacy Conference tour in Houston, TX, Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL for a day of transformative learning and collaboration! 📚🌟 #ReadmarkablyLit #EarlyLiteracy #EducationConference #TeachersInspire #teachersfollowteachers #teachers

Third-grade retention policies are on the rise, but are they addressing the real issue? Rebecca Kockler, Executive Director of Reading Reimagined and Founder and CEO of Magpie Literacy, offers a fresh perspective: "We know that every kid can learn to read unless they have a very severe disability, and that's a tiny percentage of kids. The burden is on our system to figure out why 70 percent of kids aren't reading on grade level." She emphasizes the importance of early intervention and teacher preparation: "To me, this is about: Are our teachers being trained to succeed in kindergarten through 2nd and 3rd grade? Are school systems using instructional resources based on research?" As states consider retention policies, Kockler's insights remind us to focus on the root causes of literacy challenges and invest in evidence-based solutions.

OPINION by Margaret Goldberg: Good literacy plans in California are rare, and wasted opportunities abound. Walk into any school and you are likely to see curriculum (some of it brand new) collecting dust. Our literacy coaches often say they are kept busy with subbing, yard duty and other tasks that don’t improve classroom teaching. Reading interventionists often feel isolated in their work, unsure how much they are contributing to their school’s overall success. Most rare in California are strong literacy plans that are backed by secure funding.

When Accelerate launched in 2022, our mission was to help school districts nationwide scale high-dosage tutoring — because it was (and still is) the most effective intervention to help kids catch up and close pandemic-era learning gaps. We work at the nexus of policy & research to help educators scale interventions that work for kids. 💸 Our Call to Effective Action grants help innovative tutoring vendors build a body of evidence so they can prove to districts and states that they deliver on their promises for kids. 🇺🇸 Our States Leading Recovery grants help states build statewide tutoring programs to reach the kids who can benefit most. We help our state partners develop the policies, guidelines, and partnerships with tutoring vendors and researchers. 🔍 Our original research and reports help policymakers and district leaders make sense of the constantly-evolving tutoring landscape so they can make well-informed decisions for their schools and their students. 🤝 Our yearly convening of education leaders, policymakers, researchers, tutoring providers, and reporters brings people together to share ideas, troubleshoot common challenges, and steer the conversation about high-dosage tutoring nationwide. Learn more about us at our website, https://accelerate.us/

LITERACY = PREVENTION for issues we spend billions trying to fix. Has society given up on teaching children to read? I’m hearing a similar message from funders with K-12 education in their mission: We have shifted away from literacy and now focus on (insert traumatic by-product of low literacy here) ending the school-to-prison pipeline, keeping kids in high school, drug and alcohol prevention, Kindergarten readiness, mental health, restorative practices, physical fitness, financial planning, art, and my favorite – STEM education (with 10,000+ more vocabulary words than other fields). We are in a flat-earth situation with reading. Few people have heard about—much less seen—what Structured Literacy can do for struggling students, and every child, because there are so few practitioners, and they aren't in public schools. We have little experience improving reading, so we have grown to believe we cannot. If we never fund the alternative, to see what is possible, we certainly never will. Here is a timely reminder of the cascade low literacy creates, from our colleague Kareen Weaver:

The model isn’t there yet, as seen in the data variability, but there is something truly transformative about the partnership between OUSD, FluentSeeds, and the Oakland REACH. Together, they are learning and growing and it’s been an honor to support the progress. ———— KEY FINDINGS Early literacy tutors allowed schools to offer significantly more differentiated literacy instruction, enabling educators to better tailor instruction to student needs. As a testament to the importance of implementation, literacy gains made by tutored students varied dramatically—from a low of 79% to a high of 188% of typical growth. Teachers, tutors, coaches, and school leaders reported that staffing, facilities and scheduling constraints made it difficult to optimize the work of early literacy tutors and some promising practices—such as tutor specialization—had yet to be systematized. Inadequate pay remained a critical obstacle to recruiting and retaining early literacy tutors. While many tutors were motivated to contribute to the work of early literacy, low pay was frequently cited as a challenge that undermined their commitment to the role.

LITERACY = PREVENTION for issues we spend billions trying to fix. Has society given up on teaching children to read? We've heard the same message from funders with K-12 education in their mission: We have shifted away from literacy, and now we focus on (insert traumatic by-product of low literacy here) ending the school-to-prison pipeline, keeping kids in high school, drug and alcohol prevention, Kindergarten readiness, mental health, restorative practices, physical fitness, financial planning, art, and my favorite – STEM education (with 10,000+ more vocabulary words than other fields). We are in a flat-earth situation with reading. Few people have heard about—much less seen—what Structured Literacy can do for struggling students, and every child, because there are so few practitioners, and they aren't in public schools. We have little experience improving reading, so we have grown to believe we cannot. If we never fund the alternative, to see what is possible, we certainly never will. Here is a timely reminder of the cascade low literacy creates, from our colleague Kareen Weaver: https://lnkd.in/gBrgppSy

📚 NEW: Report + case study on parent tutoring, early literacy in Oakland Unified School District High-quality tutoring has become a critical tool in addressing pandemic learning gaps and accelerating student learning, but equitable access to tutoring programs remains an issue. CRPE took a deep look at how Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) designed and implemented a literacy program with embedded tutoring support from community partners—and the impact the effort had on the tutors, students, and teachers. Authored by Ashley Jochim, Eupha Jeanne Daramola, and Morgan Polikoff, "Teachers and tutors together: Reimagining literacy instruction in Oakland," presents findings from our in-depth look at early literacy tutoring in OUSD. We set out to understand the key features of the literacy tutoring program in practice, to examine the school- and district-wide conditions that shaped its efficacy and sustainability, and to explore how tutoring shaped students’ literacy outcomes. We’ve also released a complementary case study authored by Travis Pillow: "Communities in the driver’s seat: Intensive training, deep investment power parent-led literacy programs in Oakland." This case study dives into The Oakland REACH’s Literacy Liberator Model and Fellowship, a program that identifies and recruits family and community members to be effective literacy instructors through a partnership with OUSD and the literacy nonprofit FluentSeeds.