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There is a reading crisis in America. Reading scores are dropping and 40% of students nationwide don’t read at grade level. Something must urgently be done.

During the edLeader Panel “Closing the Literacy Gap: Effective Leadership and Proven Strategies for School Districts,” Robin Zikmund, Dyslexia Advocate and Community Engagement Manager for the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE), spoke with Briana Pulliam, District Structured Literacy Specialist, Jessica Shipman, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Sandra Rodriguez-Gomez, Assistant Superintendent, about how to approach this literacy crisis based on their experiences in their own school districts.

Reader Leaders

68% of fourth graders are not reading at grade level, so what’s needed to address this ongoing crisis? One answer is hardworking educators who strive to use research-proven methods to help students read and provide encouragement to other teachers. Those educators are called Reader Leaders.

Reader Leaders use their classroom knowledge to support teachers, find out what they need to help their students, and make an honest assessment of the district’s literacy practices. While research and legislation are extremely important, the most crucial step toward addressing the literacy crisis is listening to and engaging with educators.

A Unified Approach

When it comes to transforming literacy outcomes, a unified approach to structured literacy is critical. Districts must ensure that everyone is on the same page and that teachers have a full understanding of structured literacy by providing professional development and training. Teachers cannot learn and grow unless their districts are willing to give them the time, support, and resources they need to be successful.

Tackling Challenges

Implementing structured literacy has been a huge step toward combating the literacy crisis in school districts, but challenges remain. Teachers nearing retirement, who have seen countless literacy initiatives in the past, may have greater difficulty becoming invested, while younger teachers fresh out of college may not have any structured literacy training. However, it is worth allocating the funds to provide all teachers with the training they need and to encourage buy-in.

Training takes money, and funding can be difficult. The panelists discussed having made use of ESSER funds, Title II funds, state and federal grants, and community partnerships to provide training. Funding can even be used to provide stipends for teachers to attend training outside of work hours. Structured literacy professional development such as the courses offered by the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) is one resource that districts can make use of.

Even with funding and training, though, teachers can feel overwhelmed by new literacy initiatives when past ones haven’t worked and have only led to frustration. Therefore, instead of implementing everything at once, districts should consider narrowing down a structured literacy initiative into bite-sized chunks and starting with just the necessary parts for teachers to see the impact on students. Once teachers see their students succeeding, they’re more willing to buy into a new initiative.

For districts to combat the literacy crisis, they must take the time to listen to and understand what teachers need and provide that support and encouragement. The research to support structured literacy is there, so investing in teachers’ growth will help students succeed in class and life.

And, as student literacy grows, so, too, do students’ abilities to think critically and comprehend different materials, driving growth in other subjects. Student success in literacy is tied to success in all subject areas. Nothing moves unless literacy moves.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Closing the Literacy Gap: Effective Leadership and Proven Strategies for School Districts, sponsored by Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE).

Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast

Join the Community

Empowering Struggling Readers is a free professional learning community that provides educators, administrators, special educators, curriculum leaders, and librarians a place to collaborate on how to turn struggling readers into thriving students.

The Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) offers Structured Literacy professional development and curricula based on the Orton-Gillingham approach. IMSE’s training and resources help educators learn to teach reading the right way and improve reading proficiency across all student levels. The focus areas include phonological awareness, morphology, and direct, explicit instruction tailored to meet diverse learning needs. IMSE’s programs are designed to align with the latest research in the Science of Reading, supporting equitable literacy education in classrooms nationwide.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel