1/7/2025

S4E1 Science of Reading Policy in 2025 With Casey Sullivan Taylor

“When you have all of those different stakeholders buy into that vision and then they're all striving to move in the same direction, it makes all the difference.”

—Casey Sullivan Taylor

47 minutes

The best intervention is prevention, explains Casey Sullivan Taylor, policy director for early literacy for ExcelinEd. This educational resource aims to ensure the success of every student through student-centered, state-based policy solutions.

Sullivan Taylor, a former reading teacher, interventionist, and literacy coach, joins All For Literacy host Dr. Liz Brooke for an in-depth exploration into how literacy policy trickles down into district changes, professional development programs, and classroom activities with one ultimate goal—driving student success.

Gain an open-door look into how leaders in states like Mississippi and North Carolina have used policy and implementation to turn around literacy rates and support student learning at all levels and understand the keys to success for creating change through state-directed guidance.

Listeners will also walk away with an actionable understanding of:

How the size and population of a state can affect policy implementation
The complicated relationship between local and state control
Resources for assessing a state’s policy implementation status
The support available for educators and parents to encourage literacy success

Tune in to learn how to help educators acquire and apply the knowledge they need to support students. Subscribe to All For Literacy and catch every episode of the new season.

Episode Breakdown

(00:52) - How Sullivan Taylor became involved in education

(04:29) - The Mississippi Marathon: Driving literacy change in Mississippi

(07:38) - Applying Mississippi Lessons in North Carolina

(10:20) - How state size and population affect policy implementation

(13:40) - Empowering districts with top-down policy

(17:12) - Resources for assessing policy status

(18:56) - Resources for educators and parents to encourage literacy success

(24:45) - Assessing teacher application of knowledge

(27:20) - Trends in literacy policy and literacy in general

(30:15) - Origins of the spotlight on literacy in this country

(33:20) - The criticality of policy

(39:50) - What makes Sullivan Taylor hopeful for the future of literacy

About the Guest

Casey Sullivan Taylor is policy director for early literacy at ExcelinEd, an organization that works to advance a broad range of student-centered policy solutions. A former reading teacher, interventionist, and literacy coach, Sullivan Taylor most recently served as an early literacy consultant at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and supported the implementation of Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act as an assistant state literacy coordinator at the Mississippi Department of Education.