What happened in this week’s Congressional hearings? And what do they portend? My latest: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-scienc...

If hypothetically you were going to publish a roundup of the best literacy reading in the last few weeks, what'd be in it? @mississippifreepress.org @tinaengberg.bsky.social @natwexler.bsky.social @natejoseph.bsky.social @patricebain.bsky.social @tombennett71.bsky.social @tiffanyphogan.bsky.social

"At the risk of simplifying complex problems, the answer is books." A line I wish I wrote, but it's actually Mary Katharine Ham in National Review, chonicling the disappointing shifts in US Ed... and noting the Southern Surge as an important counterpoint. www.nationalreview.com/magazine/202...

This is the consensus position, even among knowledge-building curriculum superfans: - Basically every ELA curriculum is a 'needs improvement' on early writing instruction - Everyone supplements Unfortunately, it's also insider knowledge. curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/what-about...

Head's up... @stevechiger.bsky.social @shannonsaglio.bsky.social @jillbarshay.bsky.social @mpolikoff.bsky.social @lrj417.bsky.social @callielowenstein.bsky.social @dtwuva.bsky.social @gaablab.bsky.social @gtoppo.bsky.social @guidingliteracy.bsky.social @rosehorowitch.bsky.social

Happening today: @hollylanephd.bsky.social and Alabama leaders talk Science of Reading with the appropriations committee. Link in my latest: www.karenvaites.org/p/congress-h... @missypurcell.bsky.social @hollykorbey.bsky.social @tinaengberg.bsky.social @stephen-sawchuk.bsky.social

Southern Surge, So Hot Right Now. @nickkristof.bsky.social has seen himself that Southern Surges build more trust than Mississippi Miracles. Also, I’m honored to help him debunk Mississippi naysayers. Fun to see him shouting out my humble Substack via his links. 😊 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/o...

I wanted to quote half of this piece from @carlhendrick.substack.com, a must-read for anyone who cares about learning and curriculum design. Two highlights here... Go read this! substack.com/home/post/p-...

Prior to Jan, 2025, schools & churches were on a list of "sensitive areas" off-limits for immigration enforcement. DHS changed policy, which is why we see controversial actions today. Naaz Modan is tracking the activities on school grounds: www.k12dive.com/news/ice-act...

You guys, there’s A LOT GOING ON IN LITERACY. Upcoming Congressional 'Science of Reading' hearing on Tuesday, feat. Holly Lane + Alabama leaders. Last week, MA embraced ELA curriculum mandates. Soon, book mandates are coming to TX. Whew! A quick primer: substack.com/@karenvaites...

Studies on Phonemic Awareness consistently point in the same direction: Oral-only isn't as effective as PA with letters. Why is ChatGPT telling me otherwise? My latest: www.karenvaites.org/p/misconcept...

Wowza. In just two days, this has become the most-read column published by the Curriculum Insight Project. This topic seems like inside baseball for literacy folks. But it's really quite consequential. curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/educators-...

Add this from @karenvaites.bsky.social to the pile of “don’t use LLMs to accurately answer difficult questions” research. Interesting topic although not something which has affected us in the same way in the UK. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

Cautionary Tale Alert: In the ‘Science of Reading’ era, educators were sold a story about phonemic awareness, turning a little-known product into the most-used curriculum in the US. How'd this happen? My latest: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Kelsey Piper had me at the headline, “Teaching kids to read isn’t just phonics.” I love seeing the importance of background knowledge and text-rich instruction get its due. Great read: @natwexler.bsky.social @katasolow.bsky.social @missypurcell.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/theargum...

Well, this is messed up. I know many of you have left Twitter BC Things Changed. I respct your reasons, but it’s still the public square, and i am glad to still have a voice there. Join me if it suits you. These are troubling times, and that platform maintains influence. x.com/karenvaites/... t

When it comes to explaining the shortcomings of basals, a picture is worth a thousand words. Laura Patranella explores a lesson from Into Reading for a window into the concerns. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Massachusetts is poised to implement curriculum mandates, as legislation advances in the Senate. Michigan wants to follow. Should we boost these efforts or pump the brakes? New from me: www.karenvaites.org/p/curriculum...

‘Although ed-tech companies tout huge learning gains, independent research has made clear that technology rarely boosts learning in schools—and often impairs it… www.economist.com/united-state...

Laura Patranella shows how passage-and-excerpt heavy curriculum shortchange knowledge-building and text clarity. It’s an excellent window into the unfortunate nature of passage popcorn curricula. open.substack.com/pub/itseleme...

We desperately need a window into curriculum use in American schools, to cut down on confusion (and squabbling) about curriculum quality by finally enabling better efficacy research. So, I'm begging Linda McMahon to rescue us from our confusion. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

"Americans tend to be misinformed about the policy status quo in part BC it’s not the subject of active political conflict." This line makes me think about the parallels in K-12 Ed: people know about phonics because there were "Reading Wars" associated (for a while) with political tribes.

This study on cognitive endurance lives rent-free in my head: ‘“Using a field experiment with 1,600 Indian primary school students, we randomly increase the amount of time students spend in sustained cognitive activity during the school day..." teachlikeachampion.org/blog/on-atte...

“California can no longer postpone reforms that have been recommended regularly for a century,” Newsom said in his press release. 👀

This is a great roundup of trending topics: - Book-starved curriculum in the New York Times–and beyond - Curriculum lists as critical failure point - The tradeoff tightrope in the ELA block open.substack.com/pub/curricul...

My most-read piece of 2025 is the most important thing I wrote, for sure. And proof that a little alliteration goes a long way. I’ve been pleased to give the Southern Surge its name and its rightful place in the national conversation. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

My second most-read piece of 2025 put a spotlight on the popularity of curricula that include no actual books in ELA. I was glad “ this piece resonated! Its themes made it into the NYT coverage and spawned an EdWeek series.

My third most-read piece of 2025 took a close look at the curricula used in LA and TN, two of the Southern Surge states. Both states put a premium on knowledge-building, book-rich materials. And state leaders did many things right to nurture teacher embrace. www.karenvaites.org/p/how-book-r...

The organizations reviewing ELA curricula don’t see eye to eye on what matters. The result is a mishmosh of signals for states and districts to navigate. Here’s my lay of the review landscape. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

I had a blast talking with George Couros about literacy, the importance of knowledge, math foundations, ++. George is an influential proponent of innovation in Ed, and he rose to prominence as Ed Tech blew up in K-12. None the less, he couldn’t stop talking about reading & math foundations.

Have you ever written something just because you can't fit in one more phone call to explain a problem everyone is trying to understand (and almost no one does)? Me, too. My latest: www.karenvaites.org/p/our-curric...

This disclaimer from McGraw-Hill is incredible. “No we don’t include whole books in curriculum, we’re just in the teaser business! We recommend that students go buy the books.” Via Dana Goldstein’s new piece on books in curricula: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...

I'm just a former Chief Marketing Officer, so what do I know, but I think we might have opportunities to improve our messaging. Some folks aren’t going to buy into Mississippi miracles. So, we should all get comfortable telling the Louisiana story: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

THis is for @tinakotek.bsky.social who wants to be Oregon’s governor again. Our ed system is in crisis (50th & you don’t declare an emergency?). There are things we can do. They are hard, and it means you start caring about children more than not adults, but that’s what needs to happen.

Louisiana has lots to like: - 4th grade reading gains second only to MS - no third grade retention as of the 2024 NAEP, so no risk of selection effect - 8th grade reading gains - replication of its model in TN - portable model that works in any state OR DISTRICT open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

Sorry Not Sorry

Superb piece from Mark Seidenberg, who points out that American teachers have been encouraged to “teach phonemic awareness” when British teachers have not – and England’s reading outcomes have improved none the less. The reason: influencers. www.seidenbergreading.net/blog/phonemi...

His ideas about ending gifted programs in early grades didn’t cost Zohran Mamdani the election, but I think they could cost him in enrollment, and that is a good enough reason to walk them back. My recent piece for the Center for Educational Progress: open.substack.com/pub/educatio...

In 2023, Georgia passed legislation that included curriculum reform. Two years after its quirky curriculum list debuted, we get a glimpse of district selections. Spoiler: it isn’t good. Georgia is on my mind, BC it offers a window into implementation failure. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

New York City schools enrollment is down 12% since 2019. It can’t afford to shed additional students. The case for keeping gifted and selective programs intact in NYC (and other districts) probably starts with the enrollment crisis facing public Ed. www.educationprogress.org/p/straight-t...

LA & TN are the only two states in the country where book-rich, knowledge-rich curriculum is used statewide. And both saw gains in reading proficiency after these materials entered schools. Perhaps these insights can finally settle some messy SOR/policy debates. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

This blog seems a misstep by the usually sensible Timothy Shanahan and I can’t help wondering whether he has been somewhat influenced by being involved in some of excerpt-based curricula. (h/t @karenvaites.bsky.social) www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/whole-b...

Middle School Parenting be like

“You don’t actually expect every state to follow Mississippi and Louisiana in how they teach reading?”

EdReports is looking for feedback on “how we can continue to earn and strengthen your trust.” docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

How do we retain our best teachers – because our best teachers are good at raising outcomes? While learning from the shortcomings of the merit pay era? @margueriteroza.bsky.social spotlights some initiatives worth knowing. mailchi.mp/3cf64c47e1d4...

Facing declines in reading performance, Massachusetts legislators are advancing a bill that touches a 3rd rail: curriculum mandates. I'm here to explain why MA absolutely needs this bill – and also to sound some alarms.🚨 Literacy friends, read until the end. 👀 www.karenvaites.org/p/massachuse...

Costume almost fooled us.

Astute observation from @evidentlyreading.bsky.social. Lucy Calkins made teachers think ELA classrooms for novice readers should mirror the practices of adults, and that would make kids love reading. open.substack.com/pub/curricul...

Yesterday, a big literacy bill passed the MA House. Soon, I’ll publish 2 pieces related to the developments. In the meantime, I’m resurfacing this piece on the Balanced Literacy Resistance in MA from 2024. Spoiler: some of these names will return. www.karenvaites.org/p/lessons-fr...