Launching a Literacy Improvement Program: How a District Responded to a Community’s Needs

George Ellis has served as Director of the California Reading & Literature Project (CRLP) at UC Berkeley since 2017. In this role, he oversees the annual Teacher Leadership Invitational, collaborates with school districts to advance evidence-based reading initiatives, and consults on projects focused on continuous improvement and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). He designs and leads professional development in language and literacy instruction, reading comprehension, the Science of Reading, the California Dyslexia Guidelines, and Spanish-English biliteracy transfer. A former bilingual kindergarten teacher with more than 19 years of classroom experience, George brings deep expertise as a district reading coach, new teacher mentor, and professional development coordinator to his work supporting educators across California.

Dr. Kim Gibbons is the Director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gibbons’ work has focused on intensive capacity-building for both State Educational Agencies and Local Educational Agencies. CAREI is currently partnering with the Minnesota Department of Education to implement the MnMTSS framework and on implementation of the MN Read Act to improve literacy outcomes. Before UMN, she worked at the St. Croix River Education District (SCRED) for 20 years in a variety of roles. Under her direction, SCRED received state and national recognition for their work in implementing the MTSS/RtI framework that resulted in impressive literacy outcomes in the SCRED member districts. Dr. Gibbons is the author or co-author of four books and has numerous other peer-reviewed publications. Her most recent book, published in 2018, is Effective Universal Instruction: An Action-Oriented Approach to Improving Tier 1.

Jill Hoogendyk is the Associate Superintendent for Berkeley Unified School District and previously served as Chief of Staff in the San Francisco Unified School District. She holds a master’s in education administration from Stanford University. With more than 30 years in public education, Jill began her career as a middle school teacher in Houston, Texas, and later taught elementary school in Hayward, California. She has since held a range of leadership roles, including Chief Academic Officer, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Director of State and Federal Programs in San Francisco, building on her experience as a site administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in Hayward. A focused and collaborative educator, Jill has led systemwide improvement efforts and is dedicated to serving diverse communities and advancing positive change for students.

Dr. Dale Webster is President of CORE Learning, which provides professional learning and implementation support to schools and districts across the country. Dr. Webster brings over 30 years of experience in teaching, professional learning, research, state-level policy work and administration, and curricula. Dr. Webster earned his Ph.D. in learning, cognition, and development at the University of California, Irvine, where his research focused on vocabulary development for multilingual learners. Dr. Webster most recently served as a member of the SB 488 Panel that updated teacher preparation standards for reading instruction in California and the California State Literacy Plan Team. He also served on the California Curriculum Commission, an advisory body to the California State Board of Education on curriculum frameworks and textbook adoptions. Dr. Webster is also a member of the Board of Directors for the International Dyslexia Association as the Senior Editor in Chief of IDA Publications.