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!

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a hot topic. ESSA is intended to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for long-term success, and includes a repeal of the Adequate Yearly Progress report in favor of state accountability. With every state having their own plan for ESSA, it is hard to know how to get started. We’re here to help! In this podcast, you will learn how to find out the accountability requirements of your state, how to obtain funding for your school or district, and much more.

Additional topics include:

• How ESSER funding relates to COVID-Relief bills (CARES ACT, CARES Supplemental ACT, and the American Rescue Plan)
• The part Title 1 plays in ESSA
• Ways schools can use funds to address issues brought on by the pandemic
• Additional funding options
• Where to go if you have questions

During uncertain times—and as schools recover from a year like no other—education funding is more important than ever. The CARES Act, which passed in April 2020, includes $13.2 billion for an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund and $3 billion for a Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund in order to help school districts overcome the unique challenges associated with the pandemic. Join us for the first podcast in our funding series and learn everything a school or district administrator needs to know about the CARES Act.

Topics include:

• How to get much-needed CARES Act funding to your school/school district
• What funding options are available through the CARES Act
• The best way to determine school/district needs
• How states and school districts are spending their CARES Act funds

Despite the efforts of the American education system to provide an equal education for all students, achievement gaps between disadvantaged and more advantaged students remain—and often lead to negative outcomes. The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) represents an opportunity for districts to choose intervention solutions that bridge the gap and help all students receive an education that prepares them for future success. In this informative podcast, host Pam Austin will discuss why ESSA-rated solutions are so important in addressing equity gaps and offer strategies for educators to immediately use in the classroom.

With vaccination efforts in full swing, September is likely to see a strong return to in-classroom instruction. How can educators prepare for summer school or a new school year after students have seen extended periods outside the classroom? In this important podcast, assessment expert Dr. Kelly Powell Smith—vice president and associate director of research and development at Acadience—shares the key indicators that educators should look for when reviewing spring literacy assessment scores, along with how to pinpoint where students are struggling so you can plan for summer or fall intervention and instruction.

Research shows a gap between what teachers know about reading and whether or not they are prepared to teach it. Why are teachers graduating from college without the skills they need to teach reading? Join former educator Donna Hejtmanek as she discusses this topic and shares the story behind creating her incredibly popular Facebook group “Science of Reading—What I Should Have Learned in College.”

We now know sound walls should replace word walls in the classroom, but what are the best ways to integrate them into your daily lesson to educate and engage your students, including English language learners? In this informative podcast with literacy experts Dr. Mary Dahlgren and Dr. Antonio Fierro, our educators will share tips about how to use your sound wall to transform reading instruction.

Explicit reading instruction is an approach to teaching reading that is based on research about the brain and how we learn, combined with structured and sequenced literacy instruction. Join explicit instruction expert Dr. Anita Archer for this informative podcast as she discusses the importance of explicit instruction and how it promotes achievement for students of all reading levels.

During this podcast, we will discuss:

• What explicit instruction is and how it works hand in hand with systematic reading instruction
• How explicit instruction benefits students with reading challenges
• Why explicit reading instruction is especially important in a remote learning environment
• How to use explicit reading instruction to deliver more effective lessons