Here’s How Remote Learning Could Help Struggling Readers

While we grapple with the COVID-19 health crisis and the many social ills our country is facing, we cannot overlook the fact that one root…

My Son Cracked the Code in an Atypical Way With a Focus on Phonics

When my three older children learned to read, it seemed to us as natural a process as learning to talk. We read to them every…

Literacy Needs to Be at the Forefront of Instruction When Schools Reopen

According to the most recent report by the National Association for Educational Progress, 64% of all fourth grade students in America are unable to read…

I Learned How to Fight for My Child When He Couldn’t Read. Now I Help Other Parents Do the Same.

Advocating for your own kid, or teaching other people—doctors, dentists, teachers, etc.—about your kid, is something you learn as you go along. Even if you…

You Can’t Replace Your Child’s Reading Teacher, But You Can Help Fill the Gaps

If you’re an early childhood educator hunkered down at home with young children, this article is probably not for you. You understand the importance of…

If We Want Citizens Who Are Critical Thinkers, We Need to Support Them in Becoming Readers and Writers

In March, the National Education Policy Center published a policy statement claiming that policymakers “should realize there is no settled science of reading” and should…

It Was Hard Being a Dyslexia Mom Before Coronavirus and Now It’s Even Harder

For me, helping my son go from a bright but illiterate fourth-grader to a high school student who can read and write was an incredible…

More Teachers Are Being Prepared to Tackle America’s Reading Crisis: Q&A With Kate Walsh

New data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality finds significant progress on the science of reading instruction in teacher preparation. I had the…

Three Ways to Foster a Love of Reading in Students With Disabilities

When it comes to literacy, how do we help our students with learning disabilities thrive? The research is clear: Vanessa Chratian, a special education reading…

You Can Call It a ‘Lost Decade,’ But I See a Lot of Good Things Happening

WHAT WE GOT RIGHT: The spin never stops when it comes to education and it goes into overdrive with the close of a decade. Amidst all the hype of a lost decade and the need for humility from education reformers, I see a glass way more than half full.…