“Due to the fact that there are many ways a child can fall through the cracks,this makes the first 3 years of school the most important in the child’s life. It also means the K, 1st& 2nd grade teachers are the most important teachers in the entire system.”Mc Guinness,1997, p.211.

A Must Read from Dr. Linda Diamond: In Defense of the Script: Why Siegfried Engelmann’s Direct Instruction mirrors the safety protocols of aviation, medicine, and maritime navigation There are many powerful statements in this excellent substack from Dr. Linda Diamond but here are a few that resonate with me. Do-not-miss this one! Read it and then post what resonates with you. “A DI script is not written to control the teacher; it is engineered to protect the learner.” “The outrage over scripted instruction is aimed at the wrong target. We shouldn’t be angry that Engelmann gave us pre-tested, field-proven scripts to guarantee that children learn to read, write, and compute. We should be mad as hell that for decades, educators were told that structured, reliable tools were an insult to their intelligence—while millions of children fell through the cracks of improvisational instruction.” “A script is not a replacement for teacher judgment; it is the delivery vehicle for flawless instructional design.” Read the entire substack here: substack.com/home/post/p-222… @lindajdiamond

Did you know....Mount St. Joseph University-Reading Science Program is developing a FREE, OPEN-SOURCE comprehensive curriculum, Reading Opens Worlds (ROW)! I am SO honored to be on the Advisory Panel for ROW! Want a sneak peek of ROW? Read on and then do-not-miss watching an incredible vocabulary lesson from ROW expertly taught by Dr. Tambra Isenberg! In this video, on Reading Universe, watch Mount St. Joseph University-Reading Science Program's own Dr. Tambra Isenberg expertly model one of the vocabulary lessons from ROW! How to Introduce a New Vocabulary Word: Collaborate Introducing a new vocabulary word works best when the routine is predictable. When students know what to expect, they can focus on the new word rather than guessing what's coming next. In this lesson, watch as Dr. Tambra Isenberg teaches a brand-new word — collaborate — to kindergartners at Holy Family School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Curious where this lesson plan came from? It's part of Reading Opens Worlds (ROW), a free, open-source curriculum being developed by Mount Saint Joseph University . Learn more about ROW here: readingscience.org/row Watch the lesson here: readinguniverse.org/resource… @MountStJosephU @RUTeaching

What an honor to join Sue Hegland to co-present an advanced certificate session at the 2026 International Dyslexia Association National Conference! Counting the days, 24 from today to be exact! @DyslexiaIDA

Friends have you purchased the book, Routines for Reading Results, yet? If not, what are you waiting for? :) Get yours and join the authors, Dr. Stephanie Stollar, Dr, Sarah Brown, Dr. Kelly Powell-Smith, and Beth Madden for this upcoming, not-to-be-missed book study! Learn more here: stephaniestollarconsulting.c… @sstollar6

It was an honor to join you for this conversation at NIFDI, @MrZachG !

What an incredible day of litearcy advocacy at the Capital in Harrisburg yesterday! The PA Literacy Coalition members, state legislators, parents, school leaders and educators, advocates all joined to advocate for literacy for ALL Pennsylvania children at our state capital today! When Kids Reads PA Succeeds is our rallying call as we join together to collectively ask the legislators of our state and Governor Shapiro to meaningfully fund Act 47. The day began with a Breakfast Meeting and briefing of the PA Literacy Coalition, state representatives from the House, and Senate legislators, and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Dr. Stacey Heilman Cherny. Speakers at briefing included: Senator Joe Picozzi, and PA State Rep. Jason Ortitay and State Representatives Justin Fleming, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Dr. Stacey Cherny, and from Teach Plus PA: Rachael Garnick, Director of the PA Literacy Coalition Director and Laura BoyceL, Executive Director of Teach Plus PA. A press conference of inspiring speakers followed and included Jessica Wentz, a reading specialist extraordinaire from Ephreta School District and Teach Plus Fellow, Kevin a student speaker, Majorie Young (Parent), Meghann Bierly (Parent), Jenna McElwain (Mifflin County High School), Dr. Lindsay Stock (Curriculum Director Reading School District), Rebecca Shandera (Parent), Dr. Mike Vukovich (Superintendent Windber School District & PA Superintendent of the Year, and Jeff Adams (President of The PA Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. Along with Reading League PA Board Members, Amy Sprout Sell and Jodi Jackson, we were honored to represent The Reading League PA at this important advocacy event! Catching up with fellow literacy leaders Jackie Priest Behney and Rosette Schleifer Roth h from Decoding Dyslexia PA, Candace Leigh Boarder Hall and Christine Seppi from the PA Branch of the Dyslexia Association, Mandy Klunk Ubele from Collaborative Classroom, good friend and brilliant tutor Melissa Reber, and former TRL PA board member, Megan Gierka made the day all the more special! We are all fully committed and will never give up our advocacy until every teacher has the knowledge and skills to teach every child in PA how to read and read well! I am truly grateful to have been a small part of this BIG day!

Only one chapter into, Becoming an Expert Teacher: Deliberate Practice for Effective Teaching,by Nidhi Sachdeva and Paul Kirschner, and its dog eared and annotated all over!

It's LIVE! Sold a Story Season 2 is now LIVE! Season 2, Episode 1: It’s Not Just Reading apmreports.org/episode/2026/…

Thank you to the PA Literacy Coalition for creating and offering these incredible resources about literacy legislation in PA, Act 47, with resources that inform (Act 47 At A Glance) and offer a checklist for Act 47 Implementation. If you have not joined the PA Literacy Coalition, here is your opportunity! Join over 90 (yes 90!) organizations from throughout PA who have joined together to advance the right ALL have to be literate in Pennsylvania! Access these substantive resources here: paliteracy.org/data-and-reso… and join the PA Literacy Coalition, here: paliteracy.org/ Thank @TeachPlusPA and Rachel Garnick for your steadfast leadership!!! @paliteracy

Looking forward to reading another Adam Grant book!

What an honor to conduct a Keynote 🔑 address today to launch the Show-Me Science of Reading and Math Conference and follow it with a breakout session, in Columbia, Missouri! Dedicated educators from over 21 states joined this 4th annual exceptional literacy and now also math conference! It also allowed me to spend some more time with dear friend, and the one and only, Dr. Anita Archer! I had time to say a quick hello to the brilliant Dr. Valentina Contesse, and dinner last evening with the conference leaders, Dr. Jill Dunlap Brown and Dr. Erica Lembke , Dr. Archer and fellow presenter Dr. Matt Burns as well as other literary leaders in Columbia was a special night! This two day conference is jam packed with national and state literacy leaders as well the expertise of researchers, professors, and practicing teachers. A do-not-miss conference! What an honor to have been a small part of its success in making a difference!