Grant Winner Sings the Praises of Lexia LETRS

Michelle Sullivan has spent the last decade fully focused on literacy. For several years, she was a reading interventionist, and now she is the instructional literacy coach for Parsons Elementary School in New Jersey. 

During the pandemic, she had an epiphany. “While I have been immersed in literacy the past decade plus, I wasn’t always teaching reading the right way,” she said. 

Sullivan said she had one foot in balanced literacy but found herself really digging deeper into phonics knowledge—but only for students who really needed more help. Then, she asked herself why she wasn’t doing this for every young reader? 

After a deep dive into the science of reading, Sullivan realized Lexia® LETRS® was the key she was looking for, but her district couldn’t pay for the program. So, she applied for the Lexia LETRS Science of Reading Grant and was shocked when she won. “I was so excited,” she said. “I was like, ‘Is this real life? I get to be LETRS trained?’ Because it truly was just like this hope and desire.”

Now that she has completed her training, Sullivan said she is on a mission. 

“I feel like it’s my life’s purpose at this point to just study as much as I can, influence as many teachers that come in my path, and really help get these kids out of this literacy crisis in this world.” 

In this short video, Sullivan recounts a very personal story that started her journey and why she feels all educators should experience Lexia LETRS Professional Learning.