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Our Top Posts from 2023

As the year winds to a close, let’s pause and reflect on the wealth of learning and collaboration that has enriched our Center in 2023. Join us in revisiting standout blogs, filled with invaluable strategies to empower young readers and writers – with the hope of infusing joy into the learning process.

  • Make Room for Meaning: How Decoding and Meaning Go Hand-in-hand
    Is it harmful to ask an emergent reader, “Does that make sense?” Associate Director Wendy Vaulton, highlights a few takeaways from one article that reviewed evidence related to using meaning-based (context) and code-based strategies (phonics) for early readers.
  • Getting to Know Your Readers
    Literacy trainer Nikki Drury talks about how observational assessment can be used as an opportunity to gain valuable information about your readers.
  • We Are Writers: A Kindergarten Journey
    Literacy trainer Heather Rodman reflects on her conversations with a literacy coach in Ardsley Union Free School District, NY. Find out what contributed to these kindergarteners’ identity, agency, and independence as writers.
  • A Word of Songs, Poems, and Nursery Rhymes
    Have you considered the many benefits of using songs, nursery rhymes, and poetry in your classroom? Literacy trainer Gen Arcovio shares how to get started with analyzing your books, texts, and poems.

What other topics would you like us to cover in 2024? Or would you like to contribute to our blog?

We’d love to hear from you! Email us to send along your ideas.

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June 11, 2026 Heather Rodman, Literacy Trainer

Notebooks: Helping Students Notice, Wonder, and Think on Paper

One simple but powerful way teachers can nurture students’ curiosity is through notebooks. In classrooms, notebooks are not merely places to record learning; they create space for students to collect questions, sketches, observations, discoveries, and evolving ideas.

May 20, 2026 Cindy Downend, Director

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.

April 29, 2026 Wendy Vaulton, Associate Director for Reading Recovery & Early Interventions

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?