Science of Reading Week Recap: Lessons for Driving Literacy Change

The science of reading is transforming classrooms across the country, but lasting change starts with district leaders who understand the research and align their systems to empower teachers to bring it to life.

During Lexia’s Science of Reading Week, experts and educators came together for three illuminating sessions to explore what effective literacy instruction looks like across early childhood, elementary, and adolescent learning. For lasting improvement, leaders must be fluent in the science of reading and design systems that help every educator apply it consistently.

Lead With Literacy Knowledge

“When leaders speak the language of the science, everyone else can teach it.” 
– Cassandra Wheeler, National Senior Education Advisor, Lexia®

The science of reading is a body of research from more than five decades that explains how the brain learns to read. Leaders are gaining an understanding that this science is no longer optional. 

When administrators are well-versed in this research, they can make more informed decisions about curriculum adoption, professional learning, and resource allocation. They can also communicate a clear, consistent literacy vision to educators in their schools that will set the tone for how literacy work across grade levels is prioritized. 

Early Childhood: Building Language Before Literacy

“All the adults speaking the same language is so important, because we learn with and from each other—and that ultimately impacts student outcomes.” 
– Dr. Angela Rutherford, Professor of Teacher Education, Director of the Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction, University of Mississippi

The first webinar emphasized the critical role of early language development in later reading success. Before they can decode, young children must build strong oral language skills through conversation, play, and exposure to rich vocabulary. For district leaders, this means ensuring early learning programs prioritize language development alongside social-emotional growth within Tier 1 instruction—the core experience for all students. Administrators play a key role in ensuring foundational instruction is evidence-based and systematically implemented across schools. When core instruction is strong, fewer students will require intensive intervention later. 

To support a strong foundational literacy program, administrators must champion ongoing, collaborative professional learning that includes all adults in the classroom, not just certified teachers. Specific instruction for early learners should include Structured Literacy concepts appropriate for young children, while maintaining a joyful, play-based environment that fosters curiosity and connection. 

When administrators champion early language development and coordinated literacy systems for early learners, they set the foundation for lifelong reading success.

Elementary: Building Coherence To Create Strong Readers

“We do a good job training teachers, but principals and district leaders also have to know the why. Every layer has to be on the same page about what good instruction looks like.” 
— Lindsay Bohm, Curriculum Coordinator, Peoria Public Schools, District 150, Illinois

At the elementary level, panelists stressed the importance of foundational instruction and districtwide coherence. The science of reading is often implemented unevenly across elementary classrooms, and true progress requires systemwide alignment.

In the elementary grades, district leaders must continue to ensure Tier 1 literacy instruction is strong and consistent across classrooms and grade levels. To support this, professional learning must be ongoing and include all district staff. Effective literacy change doesn’t happen from one training session; it grows from sustained coaching, data-informed reflection, and ongoing shared language across all staff members and grade levels. 

Finally, leaders must also ensure streamlined initiatives are in place to move systemwide learning forward. Many district leaders overload teachers with disconnected programs. Leaders should instead align curricula and data tools into one cohesive literacy system that builds collective efficacy.

Adolescents: Making Literacy Relevant

“You need to make it relevant. You need to help students see that we’re all on a journey like Odysseus, that we all have great expectations like Pip. If not, don’t teach the book. If you can’t make that connection to the students in front of you, you’re hardly reading.” 
– Dr. Carol Jago, Associate Director, California Reading and Literature Project, UCLA

By the time students reach middle and high school, literacy takes on new dimensions. Students have moved from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” making literacy instruction about accessibility and meaning.

At the secondary level, panelists again emphasized the need for leaders to model the science of reading and invest in professional learning for secondary teachers and staff. Most middle and high school teachers are not trained to teach reading, and leaders should equip all content-area teachers, not just ELA teachers, with the tools to support literacy within their subjects. From vocabulary instruction in science to comprehension strategies in social studies, every teacher plays a part in improving reading outcomes. Coherence and consistency matter for adolescent learning, too.

Unfortunately, many secondary students describe reading as irrelevant or discouraging. Leaders can change this narrative by supporting educators in making literacy instruction relevant and relational. This means selecting texts that reflect diverse experiences, building a culture of literacy to foster authentic discussion, and considering a redesign of systems and schedules to support the adolescent brain.  

The adolescent brain remains highly adaptable. With consistent literacy instruction, confidence building, and a sense of belonging, it’s never too late to reignite a student’s reading growth.

Lasting Literacy Starts With Leadership

Across all three insightful conversations, there was a clear through line for district leadership: Students succeed with the science of reading when systems and people align. District administrators set the tone for that alignment.

Every effective literacy system starts with knowledgeable leadership. When leaders understand the science, align professional learning and curriculum, and protect time for quality instruction, they can build systems that support how students truly learn.

Take a step toward science of reading transformation and learn how to determine if the programs you have or the programs you’re considering align with evidence and research.