This week we’re excited to dig into a topic near and dear to the hearts and minds of leaders of teaching and learning: the adoption and implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) as a vehicle to improve literacy instruction and student outcomes.

We kick off our conversation with a discussion of a recent Kappan article titled Beyond ‘Adopt and Hope’ in which author Sara Pixley digs into the barriers to successful HQIM implementation.

Without giving away too many spoilers, Leslie shares some strong feelings on the efficacy of fidelity checklists, and Michele questions whether the H and Q in many so-called high-quality instructional materials live up to their name. Both of us share thoughts on how to move forward so that the reality of HQIM implementation has a chance of living up to its promise.

Let us know what you think — and what’s on your mind as you plan for the year ahead!

We’re trying something new here on Reading to Lead.

We (Michele Caracappa and Leslie Kim) have launched a podcast for education leaders who are thinking about their system-wide strategy to improve instruction and accelerate learning for their students in the year ahead.

Both of us have served as teachers, school leaders, and chief academic officers within K-12 school systems, and now we support leaders in those seats. We hope to bring a practical lens to this work, considering the real challenges that leaders of teaching and learning face and offering concrete guidance that leaders can use as they craft a strategy that works for their context.

In episode 1, we dive deep into the world of reading intervention. Building off of Michele’s recent post, “What if Our Approach to Intervention is Just Making Things Worse?”, we discuss common pitfalls that schools face when addressing students’ needs through intervention, share solutions for how school systems might respond when they’re not seeing results, and discuss principles that can guide decision-making around a school or school system’s literacy intervention strategy.

Give us a listen and let us know what you think! And let us know what’s on your mind as you craft your plans for the school year ahead.