Mission
Advance equity through literacy. Diversify and expand the knowledge base for highly effective ‘Structured Literacy’ instruction, training, and public resources so that it becomes the standard in public schools and freely accessible to all. Prioritize underserved, marginalized, and vulnerable communities to cultivate a more just society.
The Opportunity
95% of us have the cognitive ability to learn to read well. So why do 49% of all Washington State 3rd graders and 27% of marginalized and underserved 3rd graders read at grade level?
Contrary to popular belief, the way we teach reading impacts achievement more than IQ, hard work, or privilege. Most of us need a significant level of explicit instruction to master reading, in fact. But for 50 years we have taught reading in a way that de-emphasizes skills instruction and undermines our brain’s universal process for reaching fluency.
Instruction Method is Key
The Science of Reading is a body of research that has honed effective literacy practices for over 75 years. Structured Literacy is the approach to teaching reading based on that research. It includes explicit, sequential, and mastery-focused instruction. The foundations are oral language, background knowledge, and decoding strategies based on linguistic principles far beyond phonics.
Our Work
- Help struggling readers right away.
- Diversify and expand our community’s capacity to teach reading aligned with the way our brains learn it best.
- Support public schools and teachers to implement Structured Literacy with fidelity.
- Raise awareness & explain the facts.
- Provide public resources.
- Build WA state capacity to retrain teachers and pass enforceable, resourced legislation.
Structured Literacy Works for All of Us. It’s Imperative for Most of Us.
This Kindergartener and her teacher transformed her literacy skills between October (left) and May (right) in a classroom of 18 students.
This Kindergarten teacher taught reading for 17 years before studying Structured Literacy and changing her approach. Now 100% of her students end the year at grade level, instead of just one or two.
In 2015, the Bethlehem Area School District in Pennslyvania began systematically retraining, coaching, and supporting classroom teachers as they transformed literacy instruction from Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy. It was not easy. Teachers spent 100+ hours in class over the first year, plus significant 1:1, confidential coaching time in their classrooms. They changed every single thing about their literacy program.
The results are stunning. Between 2015 – 2019:
* Proficiency went from 49% to 88%.
* The proficiency gap went from 51 points to 8.
* They broke the link between wealth and reading.
Courtesy of the Bethlehem Area School District. For more information about this incredible district, see the Media page available through the Resource tab.