Overview

Children who enter school without strong literacy skills are less likely to become proficient readers. Students who fail to learn to read well by 3rd grade are at risk for long-term remediation needs, special education referral, higher likelihood of school dropout, and a host of other negative outcomes.

Through research we know what effective reading instruction is and what best practices are to support the needs of children at greatest risk for poor outcomes. Unfortunately, we also know that there is a research to practice disconnect. Too few teachers are equipped to meet the instructional needs of their students and, as a result, too many children fail to become strong readers.

Every Child Ready to Learn is the bridge between research and practice. Our professional development team is working with multiple early childhood centers and approximately 12 school districts across Idaho to build the capacity of PreK to 3rd grade teachers to implement evidence-based reading instruction.

Impact

  • Create a system that makes research accessible, understandable and actionable for teachers to implement
  • Improve the participating teachers’ reading instructional practice and increase the reading achievement of the students they teach
  • Promote systems wide change in early education to ensure that all of Idaho’s children can have a bright future

Collaborators

Downloads

  • Lane, C., Prokop, M., Podhajski, B., Nathan, J., & Johnson, E. S. (2014) Promoting Early Literacy Development through the Professional Development of Head Start Teachers,Early Years Education: An International Research Journal, 34,(1), 67-80, doi:10.1080/09575146.2013.827157