Policymakers and education leaders must adopt policies and practices that ensure all students learn to read and have access to high-quality, diverse, and culturally responsive literacy instruction
March 27, 2024 by EdTrust 
Nearly all children can learn to read, yet far too many are denied this fundamental right. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is one of the strongest predictors of future success. Children who cannot read skillfully by that point are four times more likely to drop out of school—a risk that doubles for Black and Latino students and those from low-income families. Today, our nation faces a literacy crisis.
Blog: The Literacy Crisis in the U.S. is Deeply Concerning—and Totally Preventable
Most classrooms do not reflect the science of how children learn to read. Research-based instruction is often costly and difficult to access. Families with resources can turn to private tutoring, but those without means are left behind.
Many teachers, often unknowingly, still use ineffective methods. The problem is compounded by the fact that novice teachers—who are more likely to serve Black, Latino, and low-income students—frequently receive limited training in evidence-based reading instruction.
Report: An Equitable Approach to Improving Literacy
Blog: Teachers Need to Learn How to Teach Reading Effectively
Report: Getting Black Students Better Access to Non-Novice Teachers
Report: Getting Latino Students Better Access to Non-Novice Teachers
Engaging, diverse texts help children connect with reading and improve learning outcomes. Yet despite more than half of U.S. students being children of color, many classrooms lack culturally and racially diverse curricula that allow every child to see themselves represented.
Report: The Search for More Complex Racial and Ethnic Representation in Grade School Books
Blog: Rigor and Representation in Children’s Books Foster a Love of Reading
To ensure literacy for all, policymakers and education leaders must adopt practices grounded in science and equity. Every child—especially Black and Latino students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities—deserves both strong reading instruction and access to diverse, culturally responsive materials.
EdTrust is working to place early literacy at the center of education equity. Our Early Literacy Advisory Council, composed of leading experts, is guiding efforts to address the crisis and push for systemic solutions.
The Literacy Crisis in the U.S. is Deeply Concerning—and Totally PreventableLiteracy is one of the major civil rights issues of our time. Our children’s future—and our nation’s democracy—depends on us addressing this crisis now.
Hiding In Plain Sight: How Complex Decoding Challenges Can Block Comprehension for Older ReadersComplex decoding challenges are hiding in plain sight and can prevent older readers from comprehending grade-level texts.
Early LiteracyOur nation’s literacy crisis is one of the major civil rights issues of our time. To protect our students’ and nation’s future we must address this crisis. Read how
EdTrust’s state and regional teams have created a range of literacy resources that highlight challenges and solutions from across the country—see their work below.
Campaign Website
EdTrust-New York Early Literacy Campaign
Report
A Call to Action: The State of Early Literacy in New York
Fact Sheet
Holding Students Back – An Inequitable and Ineffective Response to Unfinished Learning (EdTrust-MidWest)
Blog
Literacy for All: Let’s Address One of the Most Common Barriers to Reading (EdTrust-MidWest)
Report
An Examination of The 2021 Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act (Tennessee Alliance)
Memo
The Cost of Retention Memo (EdTrust-Tennessee)
Guide
2023 Tennessee Retention Legislation Tracker (EdTrust-Tennessee)
Video
Leveraging High-Quality Instructional Materials to Accelerate Student Learning (Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE))
Resha Conroy is the founder and executive director of the Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate the amplified inequities for Black children experiencing unaddressed dyslexia and related learning disabilities. She is a speech-language pathologist and has over a decade of experience in education and nonprofit management.
Dr. Simone Gibson is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Morgan State University and serves as the assistant director for literacy at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities. She co-directs the Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity (MILE), a partnership with the University of Maryland that addresses systemic literacy inequities across the state.
Rebekah Johnson is a gifted education teacher in Meridian, Mississippi, working with students in grades 2–6 at Southeast Elementary and Middle Schools. She brings a classroom-first perspective to education policy and literacy equity. She is an alumna of the Teach Plus Mississippi Policy Fellowship and currently serves as Legislative Chair of the Mississippi Association for Gifted Children Advisory Board.
Suruchi Keenheel has been an educator and advocate for children and their families for nearly two decades. She has led teams of trainers, coaches, and consultants to provide equity-focused professional learning to thousands of pre- and in-service teachers, as well as school, district, and state leaders across the country. Suruchi’s areas of expertise include special education and disability rights, evidence-based literacy instruction, and school/system transformation.
Asher Miller is director of policy at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). He previously served as a senior impact coach at Umoja Student Development Corporation, working with teachers, administrators, and security guards to implement and foster SEL and restorative practices in several Chicago Public Schools. He has also worked with high school students in the Upward Bound Program.
Dr. Jasmine Rogers is a manager and coach with the In Schools program at the DCPS Reading Clinic, where she facilitates professional development on structured literacy best practices and coaches teachers as they apply their learning to their small-group instructional practice, and an early literacy intervention scholar and adjunct professor at American University.
Renae Skarin currently serves as the senior advisor for content at the English Learners Success Forum (ELSF) where she leads its research efforts to identify strategies and develop resources for improving education policies and practices with regard to high quality instructional materials for multilingual learners. She has almost 30 years of experience working with English learner and minoritized populations.
Rebecca Sutherland is director of learning science at Magpie Literacy. Previously, she was the associate director of research at Reading Reimagined, an initiative of the Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF). She has worked in public education at both the state (Massachusetts) and local district (Denver Public Schools) levels, and at national non-profits that partner directly with districts and schools.
Thank you to the following Advisors who participated in our first Literacy Advisory Council, March 2024-2025:
