Stories From The Educators Who Are Transforming Literacy Instruction

The Lead to Literacy grant has sparked a movement across California to transform the way we teach students. Educators from Napa County, Riverside County, and Siskiyou County joined us for the third summer this June at CTI’s Structured Literacy training. After five days of hands-on literacy instruction and classroom observations, these educators are ready to continue their work to inform secondary literacy instruction.

“The Lead to Literacy Grant and training from the Chartwell Teaching Institute allowed me to re-engage in some of the most relevant, researched, and profoundly important work of my career: Creating systems of literacy education for schools and districts focusing on secondary special education students. Through my training from CTI and the support of the Lead to Literacy grant, I developed enough knowledge to be able to support our NCOE Court & Community School in establishing a Structured Literacy intervention that we are expanding into the general education classes next year as well as the Juvenile Hall programming starting this summer.” 

Stephanie Cavello Solberg, Literacy Coach, Napa County Office of Educatio

“In my 18 years in education, all being spent in the Scott Valley Unified schools, I have never had the opportunity to participate in professional development of a similar caliber. Siskiyou County is at the top of the state, and historically, we are the last to be exposed to the latest educational strategies or initiatives, and often the newest trend is already in place in larger, urban areas by the time we get training on the last year’s ideas. As a third-year attendee of the Chartwell Teaching Institute, I have become better equipped to support my teachers and the changes to literacy instruction they are implementing. As a district, we have supported 1st through 12th-grade teachers in attending CTI, which has propelled significant improvements in the way we teach reading instruction in our unified district.The continued support from Chartwell staff has transformed how our district is addressing structured literacy instruction. I am beyond excited knowing our teachers are returning to their classrooms with science-based instructional strategies that all students in our district will benefit from, and to observe and support the continued growth of both our teaching staff and students’ achievement.”

Tana Piersall, Principal of Etna Elementary School from Scott Valley Unified School District

“Attending the Chartwell Teaching Institute and being part of the Lead to Literacy grant has provided me with a foundational knowledge of the fundamentals of the Science of Reading.  At the week-long Lead to Literacy workshop, Jodi and the CTI team focused on teaching the five pillars of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) and relevant practices to address learners with diverse learning needs. Over the past two years of literacy implementation through the grant, secondary educators in Moreno Valley Unified School District have embraced this evidence-based methodology by integrating practices grounded in cognitive science, psychology, and educational research. As a result, our students who have had a lifetime of reading failure are not only learning to read but are also setting themselves up for post-secondary success. As educators stepping into this vulnerable space of secondary reading instruction, our team has adopted a core framework that requires flexible and innovative thinking. Our core belief is that every child can learn to read. It’s not about the program, it’s about the system we build and how it can help the needs of individual learners.”

Rosemary Nirschl, Professional Development Specialist for Special Education, Moreno Valley Unified School District