PAL's Learning Community Kickoff Session for Instructional Materials Development with Dr. Alfred Tatum, Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Tatum shared an overview of his research study Foundational Skills and Foundational Texts: A Focus on Black Adolescent Males in the United States. Along with an overview of the study’s findings, Dr. Tatum discussed the study's implications for selecting instructional materials and strategies while working with striving adolescent readers.