When I stepped into my role as director of curriculum and learning in a public school district where 56% of our students are multilingual — speaking over six major languages — and 70% live in poverty, I quickly realized that traditional approaches to literacy weren’t just inadequate; they were failing.
Our assessments painted a grim picture: Only 33% of students were reading at grade level, and just 9% of our Black students were reaching proficiency. But the worst part? We had no clear path forward. The data told us what was broken but not how to fix it. We kept doubling down on the same tools, hoping for different results. Our breakthrough came when we embraced a holistic literacy model — one that made reading more approachable, understandable and relevant for our diverse learners.
That realization led us to rethink not just the tools we were using, but the assumptions we made about how students learn to read — especially those facing the compounded challenges of poverty, language barriers and learning differences.
Taking a holistic approach to literacy means recognizing that reading is not just a cognitive task. It’s social, emotional and deeply contextual. It means equipping every teacher, not just specialists, with tools they can use confidently. It means integrating decoding, language development, cultural relevance and student identity into every lesson. And most of all, it means committing to systems that meet students where they are so that every child, regardless of their background, has a real chance to thrive.
Here are three ways we’ve started turning that philosophy into real, measurable progress:
1. Implement evidence-based assessments
We started with what too many schools overlook: clarity. Before schools can solve a problem, they have to understand it. Evidence-based assessments allow teachers to identify specific skill gaps, such as phonemic awareness, decoding or vocabulary knowledge, and then tailor instruction and interventions to meet those exact needs. They move us away from one-size-fits-all solutions and help break ineffective cycles — like giving a student more of the same approach that continues to fall short.
For years, students struggling with reading were placed into interventions that mirrored the same balanced literacy methods that had already failed them, creating a frustrating cycle of ineffective support. Our turning point with assessments came when we replaced the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System with DIBELS, a more diagnostic tool that provided clear, actionable data. Suddenly, educators could see exactly where students were struggling — whether it was letter sounds or decoding CVC words — and intervene with purpose.
This shift laid the foundation for systemic change. With real-time data, teachers could stop relying on generalized reading levels and start addressing specific skill gaps.
2. Leverage visual scaffolding
English is one of the most complex languages to learn to read, with inconsistent spelling patterns and countless exceptions to phonics rules. For many students, this makes decoding a major barrier. Adopting an inclusive instructional model for teaching English literacy, one that includes orthographic scaffolding, can dramatically improve outcomes, especially for speakers of other languages.
Languages like Arabic and Vietnamese use visual cues (diacritics) to support decoding during early literacy. These systems reduce cognitive load, improve pronunciation and are gradually phased out as fluency builds. Adopting a literacy strategy that uses similar principles through glyphs — which are the visual markings added to English words that clarify silent letters, irregular sounds and syllable breaks — makes English’s complex spelling system more transparent, allowing learners to decode words accurately without needing to memorize inconsistent rules.
Previously, the way our teachers supported struggling readers was to give them simpler texts, read the text to them or provide them with a video to watch. But these strategies didn’t help students become readers, and they weren’t enough to build true comprehension.
Now, our students using the overlays are more confident and willing to engage with reading. They are independently reading more complex texts, which means they’re encountering richer vocabulary and deeper concepts. We are no longer spending valuable resources — our time and cognitive energy — trying to teach the rules of reading that prior instruction failed to convey. Instead, we can focus on what really matters: building vocabulary, comprehension and the background knowledge essential for long-term academic success.
3. Embrace data-driven literacy strategies
For decades, reading instruction in American schools has been guided more by philosophy than science, and the results are clear. According to the Nation’s Report Card, an alarming 66% of students are not reading at grade level, with far lower rates among students from marginalized communities. To change this, we must align classroom practices with what research consistently shows works: explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
We chose EL-ELA not only because of its structured phonics component, but also because it builds knowledge — something phonics alone cannot do. Students need both decoding skills and a deep reservoir of background knowledge to become strong, independent readers.
When schools rely on guesswork strategies like balanced literacy, they leave the most vulnerable students behind. Evidence-based reading instruction is not a trend; it’s a necessity.
In education, there’s no silver bullet. Real progress comes from aligning assessments, curriculum, interventions and teacher expertise into a system that works. We’re not chasing shortcuts; we’re building lasting solutions that give every student the support they deserve.
The transformation we’re seeing in our classrooms isn’t theoretical. It’s real, and teachers are feeling it every day. Previously, large cohorts of students in fifth and sixth grades lacked basic decoding skills, leaving them unable to read independently. About a third of our students were essentially nonreaders; they knew some basic letter sounds but couldn’t decode or comprehend text. When implementing programs that require reading novels, teachers often had to read the texts aloud because students had no ability to access them independently. Intervention periods became study halls because teachers lacked specialized training in foundational reading skills.
For the first time, we have a scalable, practical approach that addresses the root of our literacy challenges, reaching dozens of students at once, not just a few in specialized programs. It’s not just a new tool — it’s a breakthrough in how we support all learners.
The results are measurable. Our third-grade data shows that 64% of students of Asian descent, 37% of African and African American students, and 55% of white students are meeting literacy benchmarks. That’s a significant improvement from just three years ago, when only 33%, 17%, and 53% of those respective student groups met the mark.
Our fifth- and sixth-grade students are writing better than ever before. They’re not just reading, they’re engaging with text, citing evidence, taking notes and having rich, collaborative conversations. Classrooms that were once quiet and compliance-driven are now active, dynamic spaces with purposeful learning.
While challenges remain, the momentum is undeniable. When we leverage comprehensive, science-based strategies to engage students, we don’t just improve test scores — we change the culture of learning. And for our most vulnerable readers, that shift can be life-changing.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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