Scalable Literacy Implementation

3 days of district-level strategies for sustainable, measurable literacy gains

Policy shifts. Budget pressures. Districtwide accountability. You’re balancing all of it while working to improve literacy outcomes across your schools. The decisions you make now will shape student achievement for years to come.

Science of Reading Week: From Theory to Practice delivered exactly what district leaders need: Clarity about what’s working, evidence of impact, and a clear road map for implementation that scales.

Day 1: The National Picture

Science of Reading Week Spring 2026 kicked off with a keynote conversation with José Viana, senior education avisor at Lexia® and former assistant deputy secretary and director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education. The discussion focused on demystifying federal policy in concrete ways that can inform district decision-making. Leaders in attendance gained practical insights into how their peers across the country are turning disruption and uncertainty into an opportunity for sustainable, system-level change.

Day 2: District Implementation in Practice

Day 2 featured a conversation with Dr. Michelle Picard, supervisor of Secondary English and Reading at Loudoun County Public Schools (VA). Dr. Picard described how her team partnered with Lexia to build consensus, alignment, and implementation fidelity across more than 30 buildings to drive real adolescent literacy growth. She also provided concrete examples of how her staff used Lexia data to inform decision-making that leaders across the country can replicate in their own contexts.

Day 3: AI-Supported Structured Literacy

During the final session, attendees saw how AI-supported tools simplify districtwide implementation and strengthen teacher capacity at scale. Dr. Nicolas Cracco, director for Educational Leadership and Early Learning at New Rochelle City Schools (NY), turned his district’s Lexia implementation into a practical framework leaders everywhere can use to evaluate and leverage technology investments that empower teachers and not overburden them.