Today I welcome Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia, who has reviewed decades of research about retention to answer the question: on the whole, do third grade retention laws—which are on the books in some form in 27 states in the US – help or harm literacy outcomes? Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Darren Victory and Lea Mercantini Liebowitz to discuss practical takeaways.


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For full transcripts, blog responses, and more information about the podcast and other guests, as well as information about Jennifer Serravallo, go to www.jenniferserravallo.com

Learn more about the Don't Leave Us Behind campaign www.dontleaveusbehind.org

Read Dr. DellaVecchia's The Reading Teacher piece which includes discussion of  reading laws https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.2149

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About this episode’s guest:

Gabriel DellaVecchia earned his PhD in Educational Studies with a concentration in Literacy, Language, and Culture from the University of Michigan. He has a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland and a BA in Psychology from Goucher College.

 At various times in his career as an educator, Gabe has been an in-school reading tutor, a Peace Corps volunteer providing teacher professional development, a math and science paraprofessional, and an English teacher in Japan. Prior to starting his doctoral program, Gabe was a third-grade classroom teacher.

Gabe coordinates the Don’t Leave Us Behind campaign, a group of concerned citizens focused on raising awareness about, and eventually amending, Michigan’s “Read by Grade 3” law, which requires mandatory retention for third graders who struggle with reading.

He recently moved to Seattle, where he lives with his wife and their cat.

Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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