Featured Professional Learning Opportunities
Start with the Readers: Small Group Instruction That Makes a Difference (Complimentary Webinar)
K-5Start with what readers need next. In this 45-minute webinar, learn how to identify specific reading needs and use focus groups to design targeted small group instruction with a clear instructional purpose.
Bringing Variety and Choice to Writing About Reading (Complimentary Webinar)
K-5Join our complimentary 45-minute webinar to discover diverse writing genres and formats that help students deepen their understanding, clarify their thinking, and express their ideas in more meaningful ways when they write about reading.
Energizing Student Writing Through Vision, Purpose, and Voice (Complimentary Webinar)
K-6Do your students’ writing pieces often look similar or lack variety in structure and organization? In this complimentary 45-minute webinar, we will explore the importance of supporting students during the planning process so they can clearly communicate their message and make purposeful decisions about their writing.
Over 35 Years of Academic Excellence in Literacy Learning
The Center for Literacy Teaching & Instructional Leadership at Lesley University has been engaged in thirty-five years of innovative, research-based, system-wide educational improvement efforts. We are focused on a single mission—to ensure that every child has the opportunity to live a literate life.
We have been working with educators in school systems to improve children’s literacy.
35 Years
of experience improving
childhood literacy
50,000+
educators served from
across the nation and
around the world
Millions
of children’s lives
improved through literacy
Featured Blog Posts
Poolside PD
Summer is the perfect time to slow down, recharge, and dive into a great book that refreshes your literacy knowledge. In this blog post, Cindy Downend shares a thoughtful collection of professional texts for literacy educators — covering early literacy, writing instruction, purposeful reading, and evidence-based teaching practices — all perfect for your summer poolside PD.
Every Student Matters
There is a growing body of research on what it means to matter, to feel seen, valued, and significant, and the findings are clear: when students experience a genuine sense of mattering, they are more willing to engage, more likely to take risks, and more able to persist through challenges. They become more secure learners. They perform better. How might this translate to literacy instruction?
A Literacy Gambit: Engaging Students Through Daily Word Exploration
This five-minute Word of the Day routine helps students build vocabulary, think critically about words, and develop confident, independent word-solving skills.