When Educators and Administrators Partner, Students Win

Finding the right professional development opportunities for educators can be the key to unlocking student success. Yet the process often leaves teachers and leaders asking the same question: How do we choose the right program? 

When three Washington state educators—Alyssa Johnson, Tami Smith, and Erika Rudnicki—set out to align their district with the science of reading, they discovered the power of collaboration and professional learning. Their story, featured on All For Literacy™, highlights what’s possible when teachers and leaders work together for students.

The conclusion was clear: Successful change and implementation requires collaboration between educators and administrators. When educators advocate for evidence-based instruction and administrators listen, evaluate, and act alongside them, powerful results follow.

“It’s been really a powerful experience for us to go through together and also just to see … the transformations in the classroom,” said Rudnicki about the process of educators and administrators working together to implement evidence-based practices. 

Like all processes, finding the right professional learning to implement the science of reading into classrooms wasn’t a simple one-step journey. The experience required several key steps before the invaluable transformation in the classrooms began. 

Step 1: Educators recognize the need for a shift

Because they work most closely with students, classroom teachers are often the first to notice emerging learning patterns and gaps. When districts recognize teachers as professionals—and value their insights as a key part of curriculum and professional learning decisions—they create stronger, more responsive programs that truly meet students’ needs

Johnson explained that in her district, a kindergarten and first grade teacher had been on their own personal learning around the science of reading right around the time of the "Sold a Story" podcast from Emily Hanford (listen to the All For Literacy episode with Emily Hanford). With their boots-on-the-ground classroom perspective, these teachers had recognized a gap in student learning. More specifically, the teachers “were recognizing that this Lucy Calkins curriculum and this balanced literacy approach was not yielding the results that our kids were capable of,” Johnson said. 

“They had already engaged with a lot of learning [around the science of reading] ... and then that brought them to [Lexia®] LETRS®,” explained Johnson. The Lexia LETRS Suite, a comprehensive professional development program that stands for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, is designed to provide early childhood and elementary educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading. Developed by Dr. Louisa Moats and leaders in the field of literacy, LETRS teaches the skills needed to master the foundational and fundamentals of reading and writing instruction—phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written language.

Step 2: Teacher advocacy kicks off the change

After reaching out to Lexia® about LETRS, these passionate teachers brought the training to the attention of their administrators as an evidence-backed professional development opportunity. 

“Teachers were the people who said, ‘We need something different and better, and here’s the thing we need,’” summarized Lexia Senior Education Advisor Kerri Larkin, recounting how the educators kicked off their district's pivot toward the science of reading. 

The district's honest and open communication channels supported the teachers as they brought their well-researched ideas to administration for evaluation, and were an important part of kicking off successful change for students. 

“We don’t hear enough of those stories about how frequently and respectfully that circle of communication really runs in so many school districts,” commented Larkin. “That sort of open dialogue is really refreshing to hear.”

Step 3: Administrators listen to feedback and take the lead

At the same time as the teachers were diving into evidence-backed opportunities, administrators in the district knew it was time to review the curriculum. 

“We needed to find something that was going to be supported by evidence … and put something in front of [our teachers] that would best meet the needs of our kids,” explained Johnson.

“We sat in a room for about four hours … and said, ‘OK, what do we have curriculum-wise? What do we need? What do we need to remove? What do we need to add?’” recalled Rudnicki. “We just started to really piece [it] all together.”

Taking feedback from the educators, the administrators decided to integrate not only LETRS but also Lexia Aspire® Professional Learning—a flexible, self-paced, digital, International Dyslexia Association® (IDA)-accredited solution that empowers all educators to accelerate literacy skills among students in upper elementary through high school. 

“[These professional development opportunities] were one of the first pieces of the puzzle to really make sure that our teachers were equipped with the knowledge and the practices that they needed to drive the work,” said Rudnicki. 

Step 4: The results shine

Now four years into the implementation process, the momentum has only grown. The number of educators and administrators signing up for LETRS and Aspire has skyrocketed from a handful to well into the hundreds—with positive word of mouth among individuals greatly contributing to this increase in professional learning. 

“A big part of our success [has been] the genuine excitement from teachers talking to other teachers,” emphasized Johnson. 

Smith added, “When you hear your peers talking about things that are actually having success for kids, it just makes you want to find out more about it.”

In terms of student success, more and more of the district's teachers have come forth with individual stories of positive outcomes in their classrooms. These teachers are “excited to share that their students are getting a new concept or skill, and they attribute it to the learning that they've done in the past year or so,” said Rudnicki. 

Smith highlighted an important data point: “Last year was an implementation year for us with a new ELA curriculum for [third] through eighth grade, and usually in an implementation year, you’re going to see a dip in your data, but we saw an increase in overall ELA state assessment scores,” she said. “It was pretty significant. So that’s very exciting to me that our data is showing … that what we’re doing is on the right track.”

The power of partnership

The story of this Washington district underscores an essential truth: When teachers’ insights and administrators’ leadership come together, lasting change takes root. Professional learning is not just about programs or training—it’s about shared commitment, mutual respect, and a belief that all students can succeed.

In the end, this exciting transformation hasn’t just been about instruction—it’s been about working together. “It's been deep work, it’s been hard work, but ultimately … it's the right work for us,” Rudnicki stated. 

And as this district shows, when educators and leaders commit to doing the right work together, they not only change classrooms—they change futures.