Writing is potentially the most powerful lever we have for building knowledge and improving reading comprehension. It can uncover gaps in background knowledge that prevent students from accessing grade-level material. And, because writing helps new information stick, it can also boost students’ academic performance.

But writing is the most difficult thing we ask students to do. If inexperienced writers are asked to write at length, they can easily become overwhelmed as they juggle everything from spelling to word choice to organizing their thoughts. And if students are asked to write only about personal experience or topics in a separate writing curriculum, writing won’t help them acquire the knowledge they need to succeed in school.

Join this informative podcast as we talk with esteemed researcher and author Natalie Wexler. She will share ways to make writing less overwhelming by starting at the sentence level and how to include writing activities in the content of the core curriculum. This is an approach that shouldn’t be limited to English classes. It can have powerful effects in any subject—and at any grade level.

How can districts ensure all students have the same opportunities to the best education if all facets of learning are not equitable? The Digital Divide is not just about devices and the Internet, but it is also about pedagogy in our classrooms and opportunities for students. In this podcast, we will explore the different types of digital divides that occur in our schools with an award-winning equity expert, and we will also address the impact these divides have on literacy learning. Join us and see what you can learn from our guest as he shares the ways he and his district strive for absolute learning equity.

Today, more children are arriving at school with significant social and emotional vulnerabilities due to the chronic stress and trauma of the pandemic. Our students have experienced stress and trauma in the past, but this moment is unique because the experience is more universally shared. This period is also exceptional because our teachers have experienced the chronic stress, loss, and uncertainty of the pandemic as well as our students. Teachers are often given the role of superheroes in our society, but we cannot ask teachers to give of themselves what they do not have. While it is urgent we address our students’ social and emotional needs, it is equally urgent that we address the needs of our teachers, if they are going to help students.

This podcast will address hands-on activities and strategies for supporting teachers and students with care and connection. Language allows us to identify and express our emotions. Our use of language to assist in our efforts to connect with our students can transform traditional instruction into “trauma-informed” instruction. Language and connection have the power to heal. Connecting with students does not cost money and can create a climate and culture that can change a child’s life.

Too many students in our classrooms struggle with learning to read. This does not need to occur. Research has shown that approximately 95% of all students can be taught to read at grade level, including those with learning disabilities and dyslexia. How can we meet the needs of every student in today’s classrooms? We'll discuss the characteristics of students who become our struggling readers along with research-supported and classroom-proven approaches to successfully address these students' needs.

In 2017, students, teachers, and activists filed a class action lawsuit (Ella T. vs. the State of California) arguing state education officials knew there was a crisis of reading and writing in California public schools, but they failed to develop a plan to address it. That lawsuit resulted in a $53 million settlement—money that didn’t go to the plaintiffs but rather to 75 of the lowest-performing schools in the state.

Listen in as we talk to Margaret Goldberg, a full-time literacy coach, co-founder of The Right to Read Project, and an integral part of how California has overhauled the way reading is taught. You’ll be inspired as Goldberg shares the state’s new approach, process, exciting outcomes, and her experiences watching literacy rates improve.

Goldberg will discuss: 

• The difference between “then” and “now”—and how a new approach to teaching reading based on Structured Literacy and the science of reading altered the trajectory for thousands of students
• The process used to deepen teachers’ understanding of the research about reading and how they apply that to coaching 
• Righttoreadproject.com and how you can get involved

As districts prepare for the remainder of this school year and the many needs ahead, educators must make crucial decisions for appropriate use of ESSER III funding. However, before purchasing priorities can be planned, there are important questions to ask and new funding parameters to explore that will help all educators make the best decisions to ensure educational equity for every student. Additionally, looking back at last year’s funding decisions can help inform the best use of new funds. Join Lexia® Learning’s Director of State Initiatives, Jon Hummell, and Education Department Relations Manager, Brittany Martin, for an illuminating podcast conversation about strategies and considerations for effectively leveraging relief funding. 

In this podcast, our funding experts will discuss: 

• Determining whether district purchases with previous funds were effective or not
• Lessons learned about the investments districts made so far
• What do these purchasing decisions mean going forward? 
• What are some of the best ways to use ESSER III funds?
• How can spending decisions improve and advance a district toward equity?
• And much more!

After taking a backseat in the education world for many years, handwriting is back. While assistive technology can help students with writing problems, it does not remove the importance of teaching explicit handwriting. Handwriting reinforces reading and spelling skills, and is linked to reading and spelling achievement. In this insightful podcast, you will learn how handwriting supports the science of reading and strategies educators can use immediately in the classroom to build handwriting into their daily lessons.

In this podcast, listeners will learn: 

• The connection between handwriting, reading, and writing
• The evidence around two “great debates”
  • Printing or cursive? 
  • Handwriting or keyboarding? 
• Key recommendations for handwriting instruction

The Equity Gap, or differentials in race, ethnicity, income, language, and background, has become even more prominent during the pandemic. Minority students from low-income communities were among those most affected by the lockdown and the move to remote learning—where they faced social and economic stress in their families and communities. In this important podcast, assessment expert Dr. Roland Good explores the Equity Gap and how it affects assessment data. You will also learn about reporting tools educators can use to discover skill gaps and provide students with the support they need. 

In this podcast, Dr. Good will discuss:

• How assessment data shows the skills most affected by gaps in equity
• How the pandemic affected the Equity Gap
• Reporting tools that can help educators disseminate student data
• How to use assessment data to provide differentiation, prepare for state testing, and close skill gaps
• Next steps to closing the Equity Gap  

Please join us for this informative and engaging discussion with EDVIEW360 Podcast Host and Education Leader Pam Austin.

For our podcast, we talk with Kristen Jones, LETRS Literacy Champion and Curriculum Director at Enid Public Schools in Enid, Oklahoma. This inspiring educator will share how Enid Public Schools used literacy professional learning to transform teacher knowledge and raise student achievement. 

Jones will discuss steps taken by Enid Public Schools as they implemented LETRS professional learning district-wide. She’ll also address how the training increased teacher knowledge of the science of reading and transformed the school district and community, leading to the school district becoming one of the winners of the first Dr. Louisa Moats Award for Excellence Implementing the Science of Reading.

Jones will also address:

• Why her district chose a program aligned with the science of reading
• How the district encouraged teacher buy-in 
• Challenges faced in a district-wide implementation
• Tips for administrators to roll out a new literacy professional learning program

“Enid Public Schools has strong leaders who ‘owned’ the challenge and are fully committed to the idea that almost all kids can learn to read. It has talented teachers who have dug into substantive learning about reading science, and who are working diligently to refine their teaching skills. I would like to express my sincere admiration for these educators and congratulate them on making a significant, transformational contribution toward the improvement of student literacy in their district.” 

–Dr. Louisa Moats, LETRS author 

The future depends on our children and one way to fully empower them is to recognize that literacy is a fundamental right in society.  Join Dr. Maria Murray—founder and president and CEO of The Reading League—for an engaging podcast episode as she explains why the science of reading is now regarded as a defining movement and addresses the need to protect the integrity of its findings so that the promise of successful reading outcomes for our students can be realized. 

In this podcast, Dr. Murray discusses:

• Defining the Science of Reading
• Recognizing literacy as a human right
• What the Science of Reading is NOT
• ‘Science’ separates what the Science of Reading is
• What we have learned; What we still have to learn
• How to be good citizens for the Science of Reading
• Creating equity and much more!

You don’t want to miss this engaging conversation!