This initiative has the potential to foster reading and writing proficiency for literally millions of children. We have known for the past decade that instruction strategies grounded in brain science are the best way to ensure our youngest learners attain the critical literacy skills needed for future academic success. Oklahoma Science of Reading Academies offer extensive professional learning for our early-grade teachers. The foundation for literacy built from these academies will reap rewards not only for students who have faced disrupted learning due to the pandemic but for every learner in a participating teacher’s classrooms for the entirety of their careers.

Teachers are the most important factor in student success. Informed teachers can explain language to students, including sounds, spellings, and word meanings that might be confusing. They use lessons based on reading science and understand the process of learning to read and write. Research proves it. Science matters.