Driving change begins with creating an initiative that is focused on collaboration and advocacy, with a shared vision. Literacy leaders and policymakers are joining forces to develop real solutions to improve literacy achievement, especially for our youngest students.
At Just Right Reader, we believe that leaders working together can make the positive shift in education our students need.
Key Takeaways
- How state officials are improving reading proficiency nationwide
- State-by-State approaches to supporting literacy with Just Right Reader
Improving Reading Proficiency Nationwide
Educational leaders can set the bar for districts, schools, educators, families, and students when it comes to prioritizing literacy achievement by implementing effective strategies. From there, we can drive significant improvements for early literacy outcomes.
ExcelinEd is one nonprofit that is working to transform education and enact state-based policies. This organization “collaborates with partners and education leaders to research, develop, and implement policies that prioritize early literacy, empower families with education choice, expand innovation, strengthen school performance, and prepare students to transition from education to the workforce.”
In November 2024, more than a thousand state and national leaders gathered at ExcelinEd’sNational Summit on Education to exchange results-driven solutions and strategies to shape public policy. This included keynote speaker Jeb Bush, chairman of ExcelinEd and the 43rd Governor of Florida, sharing his vision for transforming education with policies that close learning gaps, expand opportunity, and more.
Watch the Video Here.
Just Right Reader: A Trusted Partner State by State
Just Right Reader's CEO Sara Rich was among the forward-thinking literacy leaders attending the ExcelinEd’sNational Summit on Education, echoing the need for a focus on early literacy. She is passionate about supporting students and aligning Just Right Reader’s literacy resources with the latest research-based practices to do whatever it takes to accelerate reading achievement. This is reflected in the continual evolution of our materials, which are serving schools and districts nationwide today.
State departments of education play a crucial role in shaping education policy and supporting districts. By setting quality standards and implementing effective policies, they drive scalable improvements in early literacy outcomes, particularly by allocating funding for high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). This crucial work is increasingly being done through collaboration with stakeholders to drive consistent change in reading instruction. This shared ownership is the right path forward, creating a more structured framework for improving reading proficiencies nationwide.
Materials Tailored to State and District Needs
At Just Right Reader, we work closely with state departments to make our resources readily available. We align our materials to state standards and provide personalized take-home packs for students, which include state-specific online reading hubs created for parents and caregivers to extend learning at home. Our materials also include a personalized video message from state leaders to distribute to schools, encouraging them to support the literacy initiative.
Texas
Our decodable books were recently approved by the Texas State Board of Education and added to the state-adopted HQIM list. Texas school districts now have access to Just Right Reader's evidence-based Science of Reading resources in both English and Spanish through state adoption lists.
Iowa
In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education recently made a large-scale investment to provide every first-grade student with Just Right Reader’sScience of Reading Take-Everywhere Literacy Packs™ to support reading practice at home.
“Iowa is making early literacy a top priority, recently enacting landmark literacy legislation, improving state standards and ensuring teachers have the tools they need to hone this foundational skill in their students,” Governor Reynolds said in an Iowa Department of Education press release. “These book packs, based on the Science of Reading, bring parents more fully into that process by giving them a fun way to reinforce at home what their children are learning at school. It’s a powerful way to teach our kids to read—so they can spend a lifetime reading to learn.”
Florida
Duval County received a literacy grant with requirements to support literacy from birth onward. To support the youngest readers in the community, district leaders partnered with Just Right Reader to develop board books, backed by research and aligned to Early Learning Standards, to ignite curiosity among young learners at every step toward kindergarten readiness.
Hillsborough County Public Schools addressed summer reading loss by providing engaging decodable books to K-2 students needing extra support. The district partnered with Just Right Reader to customize book packs aligned with their UFLI phonics curriculum. The program was well-received by teachers and administrators, who appreciated the joy brought to students in authentic and relatable stories.
Tracie Bergman, a passionate literacy advocate and the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Instruction with a Literacy Focus shares her extensive experience and innovative strategies to enhance literacy across one of the largest school districts in the U.S.
Listen to the Podcast
Georgia
District leaders of City Schools of Decatur, an independent public school district in Decatur, Georgia, recognized the urgent need to address foundational literacy gaps through impactfulintervention, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.Kindergarten - 5th grade students participating in a district-funded after-school tutoring program received decodables based on reading assessment data.
California
First-grade students fromFairfield, California are participating in the Just Right Reader Pilot Program aimed at strengthening early literacy. Every student will receive a personalized selection of 30 books to keep, based on their assessment data to help encourage building their home libraries.
Meet With Our Team to Personalize Learning
We work hand-in-hand with school and district leaders to tailor our materials to meet unique needs. By customizing our high-quality instructional materials we can help you meet the unique needs of your district, creating a lasting impact on all students.
