Project for Adolescent Literacy

Over the past ten years, literacy and reading instruction has received renewed attention. As of the end of April 2024, an Education Week analysis showed that 38 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented new policies related to evidence-based reading instruction since 2013. The new state policies cover a mix of items such as curriculum, educator professional development, testing, and screenings for dyslexic students leading many districts and schools searching for better curricula, professional development, and strategies around improving literacy.

Interestingly, nearly all the focus has been on early readers and improving practices and student outcomes in early grades (K-2) or, at most, elementary school (K-5). Far less attention has been paid to the challenges of adolescent students not yet reading at grade level, many of whom are Black, Brown and/or economically disadvantaged.

The Project for Adolescent Literacy (PAL) will draw attention to this important gap in the current literacy conversation. Created by educators to support educators who are working with older struggling readers, PAL will identify what works (materials, curricula, strategies, and supportive policies), and begin to tell the stories of educators and students who have seen success.

In the first phase of this project, PAL intends to:

identify adolescent literacy educators;
gather information about current adolescent literacy practices and needs through educator surveys, empathy interviews, and focus groups;
create a supportive learning community of adolescent literacy educators;
catalog “what works” for adolescent students not yet reading at grade level through a repository of resources and a playbook of strategies;
begin to share stories and examples of the need to address and support adolescents denied access to grade level literacy.

If you’d like to stay up to date on the Project for Adolescent Literacy, want to be part of our learning community and/or share your examples and experiences, please email PAL@seekcommonground.org.

Project for Adolescent Literacy (PAL): First Look at Findings

On Monday, November 18 at 6:30 PM EDT we shared our analysis of the survey results, suggest insights of what the results of the survey alongside our focus groups may indicate about adolescent literacy work nationwide, and presented a timeline of the next steps of our work and ways to stay involved. Access the webinar and a one-pager of these initial findings here:

Access the one-pager.

PAL STEERING COMMITTEE

Julie Burtscher Brown

Julie is the founding teacher of the first public high school structured literacy program in her home state of Vermont. She is a licensed special educator, reading specialist, and multilingual learner teacher. Julie has held a variety of roles, including Structured Literacy Teacher, Literacy Facilitator, MLL Coordinator, and Special Educator for Mountain Views Supervisory Union in Woodstock, Vermont. For the past ten years, Julie has taught structured literacy and writing courses for secondary students and their teachers. She holds a masters degree in Language and Literacy from Simmons College. Julie is currently a doctoral student at Mount St. Joseph University studying Reading Science with research interests in adolescent literacy instruction and intervention. She has had the honor of sharing her secondary literacy work at national conferences and webinars for organizations such as The Reading League, Memphis Literacy Institute, Michigan MTSS, Oregon Response to Instruction and Intervention, the PATTAN Literacy Symposium, and the Melissa Lori Love Literacy podcast. Julie’s students are her inspiration.

Christina Cover

Christina Cover is the Seek Common Ground Project Lead for the Project for Adolescent Literacy. Christina is a Special Education teacher and the Literacy Coordinator at a public high school in the Bronx. As Literacy Coordinator, she leads a new Structured Literacy program created to provide science of reading-aligned literacy instruction and interventions for 9th grade students. She is Secretary of the Bronx/Upper Manhattan Democratic Socialists of America Organizing Committee. Before starting work as a teacher, she worked as a Seek Common Ground Fellow and as Communications Coordinator in the office of Assembly Member Khaleel M. Anderson and also served with the AmeriCorps program City Year. She earned a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from CUNY Queens College and an M.A. in Intellectual Disabilities/Autism and dual teaching certification in English Language Arts and Special Education (7-12) from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Kate V. Crist

An educator in the field for over 20 years, Kate. V. Crist is dedicated to equitable literacy outcomes for secondary students. Kate started teaching high school history in 2004 in the San Francisco Bay Area and since then has held a variety of roles in districts and education non-profits: program coordinator, instructional coach, professional learning director, senior literacy designer. Kate has had the privilege of working with a variety of leading educational organizations such as: StandardsWork, UC Berkeley History-Social Studies Project, Achieve, OCTAE, Lexia, Student Achievement Partners, and UnboundEd. Kate earned her Master of Arts in teaching at University of San Francisco and Bachelor of Arts at University of California Santa Cruz. In her personal life, Kate enjoys spending time in the beautiful wilderness of the Eastern Sierras with her husband and two children.

Rachel Manandhar

Rachel Manandhar is an Education Specialist who has taught in urban public school special education programs over the past 20 years. Rachel’s work is focused on increasing equitable educational opportunities by centering student voices, increasing agency of historically-marginalized students and families, and enabling teachers to engage students of diverse abilities and backgrounds in meaningful learning experiences. Rachel earned a B.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Brown University, a M.Ed. from Lesley University, and a Reading Instruction Certificate from University of California San Diego Extension.

Rachel’s current work at Berkeley High School focuses on providing direct instruction to students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities, facilitating professional learning on adolescent literacy, and collaborating across grade levels and content areas to share evidence-based practices for reading and writing instruction and intervention. Outside of school, Rachel enjoys spending time in the hills and on the beach with her husband and kids, listening to literacy podcasts while walking her dog, and traveling as often as possible.

Tinaya York

Dr. York’s vision is simple- Schools where all students learn to read and understand increasingly complex texts and ideas. Her main ingredients for success are authenticity, care, research, and collaborative meaning-making. Dr. York has been an educator with Chicago Public Schools for over 20 years as a teacher, literacy coach, curriculum manager, instructional support leader, director of elementary schools for the Office of Network Supports, and most recently, assistant principal and principal. In each role, she has raised the literacy skills and achievement of children K - HS, particularly Black and Brown children. As a school-level leader, Dr. York focused on improving student achievement through strategic planning and building teachers’ capacity to lead the instructional work of the school. Her expertise includes coaching, enhancing the literacy skills and achievement of Black and Brown adolescents, instruction, and creating and facilitating effective professional development. She enjoys family, reading, writing, laughing, and riding her motorcycle.