Thank you Claude for sharing this incredible example!!! This story is both inspiring and urgent. Rafely Palacios captures what too many educators across the country have experienced: students—especially multilingual learners—working incredibly hard, yet not making the literacy gains they deserve because the instructional approaches provided were not evidence-based. "Driven by concern and curiosity", your team’s thoughtful implementation of Aprendo Leyendo followed by the adaptation of UFLI—layering in oral language, targeted vocabulary, and meaning-making—shows how evidence-based practice can be both rigorous and responsive for multilingual learners.
Rafely, this is exemplary professional capital in action -- exploring, refining it through collaboration, lesson study, and continuous reflection so that it addresses the specific needs of the learners in front of us. If you haven't done so, please consider sharing this journey with Dr. Holly Lane and posting it in the UFLI Facebook group—the field will benefit from your learning. I always say that UFLI’s efficiency and effectiveness is unmatched and it allows teachers the time to meet the needs of all learners. Rafely and Claude, let me know if you are interested in doing a podcast about this. This is a model for how districts can move from promising to proven practice.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey--both impressive and inspiring. You have distilled all the hard work related to discussion and decision-making into simple, accessible, actionable steps. I particularly appreciate this:
"Here's what educators can do immediately: Examine your phonics curriculum, ELD instruction, reading program, and teaching practices through the lens of your English Learners' needs. Look for moments that help students connect meaning to the words they are learning to read and spell and adapt lessons and instruction to ensure these essential connections are made."
Happy to read this today. Reminds me of Literacy Cadre/Getting Results from back in the day. 💕💕💕
How can we scale this up so that more learners can benefit? My research focused on teacher knowledge for reading intervention, and what the teachers did with you here is exactly what I found. Teachers need both quality curriculum and the time and resources to develop lessons their students need.
I love your question about how do we scale this up? Every teacher should be part of some sort of lesson study where they are working with colleagues around an inquiry question just as Rafely described. In order for that to happen, leaders need to prioritize this type of work and ensure that the strategies of excellent teaching are prioritized and are a big part of the school's ongoing conversation.
Couldn’t agree more. Having been a part of one with Dr. Goldenberg and his colleagues, it was the best opportunity both for me and my students. My school district has something in place (PDSA cycles), but in practice it’s not nearly as effective. I think the assistance of an instructional leader is invaluable.
Although…there was a year that my district held back 2nd graders that didn’t meet GL standards. My friend and I co-taught that class, and ours was the only one in the school that had a test score increase that year (it was HUGE). But the hate that we got from other teachers when the principal announced it…
Okay, I have listened multiple times! I do think there is something to teachers sharing expertise in schools within a structure like PDSA, but it requires trust, vulnerability, and an openness/willingness to listen and learn. I think that's where leadership can come in to model that. Also, I think it points to teacher training and PD. Those need to be aligned with current research-based best practices. I used Shulman's PCK along with CRP for my conceptual framework, so I still think there is something valuable about giving teachers both pedagogical and content knowledge for their practice.
What I thought was one of the most important things Hattie said in that podcast is that the number one thing we need in order to change is courage from leaders. It reminded me of something Faith and Judy said on The Literacy View: we don’t have a literacy crisis, we have a leadership crisis.
I also appreciated Hattie’s reminder and you said that what we teach MUST align with research. Like you, I think structures are powerful for supporting teacher expertise. In my own work with teachers, I use something similar to PDSA:
we start with a briefing (here’s the lesson and why we’re doing it),
observe the learning impact and moments of confusion,
debrief to analyze impact and plan next steps,
then study student work as we refine.
What I find is that there are always teachers, as Hattie said, who are excellent. Too often we focus conversations on who is not getting impact, rather than highlighting who is. I agree with you — and with Hattie — that leaders need to be courageous and prioritize scaling what successful teachers are doing so those practices ripple across staffrooms.
That way, we’re talking about what to teach (aligned to research) while also lifting up teacher expertise as the driver for scaling success.
Yes, I agree..PDSA cycles are much more effective when it's a team effort and leadership doesn't just allow for it but leads it, prioritizes it and takes leadership action based upon it. So often, in schools what is not working is talked more than what is working. I keep sharing this podcast but I will again with the hopes that you will share it as well because I think it's a missing piece of many schools right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlrZvoGh1sw&t=4s
Reading your article through the lens of someone who coaches literacy teachers across schools in the U.S., I was struck by how your process exemplifies scaling teacher excellence, something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
What I love most about your piece is the central theme: we can study teaching, be curious about it, and look closely at where it works and has significant impact. Then, where there are confusions, we can untangle them to create even more impact.
I particularly appreciated how you began with an inquiry question: “How can English phonics instruction be adapted to leverage multilingual learners’ existing language strengths?”
The Study Plan you described—adjusting programs to meet students’ needs, adding a third day to move from decoding to meaning-making, and reinforcing learning through vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension demonstrates exactly this kind of thoughtful adaptation. I love the focus on integrating oral language development, cross-linguistic transfer, and targeted supports to deepen understanding in both English and Spanish.
The Teach and Reflect approach also resonated deeply. It emphasizes reflecting not just on teaching, but on student learning and impact—examining what caused impact and how we can replicate it. This isn’t just about programs or labeling some teachers as “excellent.” It’s about creating conditions where we study what excellent teachers do and help others do the same.
This is exactly the work we need, and I’m so glad to see it happening. It’s the work I strive to do every day in my own practice. Let’s keep the conversation about scaling teacher excellence front and center during the 2025/26 school year. Our students need us to keep that idea front and center!
I love this: "We can study teaching, be curious about it, and look closely at where it works and has significant impact. Then, where there are confusions, we can untangle them to create even more impact.
Hi, are you willing to share the slides you created around the sight words where to added meaning to the word like the “they” example? We are currently working on creating our own. I really appreciate your study and article!
I love this post! You described the process that you went through with your colleagues so well. I appreciate how thoughtfully you considered the research and your students' strengths and needs. This is bizarrely aligned to a project that I am working on with a local school district, and I can't wait to share your ideas and modifications with them. Rafely- I am reaching out to you on LinkedIn to hopefully talk more, and Claude - thank you for giving Rafely a platform to share this amazing work.
This is exactly what I needed! I recently started using UFLI with my high school students who are new to the country—some of whom have limited or interrupted formal education. Your shared experience provides a helpful starting point for me to be more intentional about integrating oral language development as I work to build reading skills in English.
Thank you Claude for sharing this incredible example!!! This story is both inspiring and urgent. Rafely Palacios captures what too many educators across the country have experienced: students—especially multilingual learners—working incredibly hard, yet not making the literacy gains they deserve because the instructional approaches provided were not evidence-based. "Driven by concern and curiosity", your team’s thoughtful implementation of Aprendo Leyendo followed by the adaptation of UFLI—layering in oral language, targeted vocabulary, and meaning-making—shows how evidence-based practice can be both rigorous and responsive for multilingual learners.
Rafely, this is exemplary professional capital in action -- exploring, refining it through collaboration, lesson study, and continuous reflection so that it addresses the specific needs of the learners in front of us. If you haven't done so, please consider sharing this journey with Dr. Holly Lane and posting it in the UFLI Facebook group—the field will benefit from your learning. I always say that UFLI’s efficiency and effectiveness is unmatched and it allows teachers the time to meet the needs of all learners. Rafely and Claude, let me know if you are interested in doing a podcast about this. This is a model for how districts can move from promising to proven practice.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey--both impressive and inspiring. You have distilled all the hard work related to discussion and decision-making into simple, accessible, actionable steps. I particularly appreciate this:
"Here's what educators can do immediately: Examine your phonics curriculum, ELD instruction, reading program, and teaching practices through the lens of your English Learners' needs. Look for moments that help students connect meaning to the words they are learning to read and spell and adapt lessons and instruction to ensure these essential connections are made."
Take a bow.
Happy to read this today. Reminds me of Literacy Cadre/Getting Results from back in the day. 💕💕💕
How can we scale this up so that more learners can benefit? My research focused on teacher knowledge for reading intervention, and what the teachers did with you here is exactly what I found. Teachers need both quality curriculum and the time and resources to develop lessons their students need.
I love your question about how do we scale this up? Every teacher should be part of some sort of lesson study where they are working with colleagues around an inquiry question just as Rafely described. In order for that to happen, leaders need to prioritize this type of work and ensure that the strategies of excellent teaching are prioritized and are a big part of the school's ongoing conversation.
Couldn’t agree more. Having been a part of one with Dr. Goldenberg and his colleagues, it was the best opportunity both for me and my students. My school district has something in place (PDSA cycles), but in practice it’s not nearly as effective. I think the assistance of an instructional leader is invaluable.
Yep I know…leadership crisis…. how leadership says it and goes about prioritizing excellence matters …
Although…there was a year that my district held back 2nd graders that didn’t meet GL standards. My friend and I co-taught that class, and ours was the only one in the school that had a test score increase that year (it was HUGE). But the hate that we got from other teachers when the principal announced it…
Let me know what you think after listening.
Okay, I have listened multiple times! I do think there is something to teachers sharing expertise in schools within a structure like PDSA, but it requires trust, vulnerability, and an openness/willingness to listen and learn. I think that's where leadership can come in to model that. Also, I think it points to teacher training and PD. Those need to be aligned with current research-based best practices. I used Shulman's PCK along with CRP for my conceptual framework, so I still think there is something valuable about giving teachers both pedagogical and content knowledge for their practice.
What I thought was one of the most important things Hattie said in that podcast is that the number one thing we need in order to change is courage from leaders. It reminded me of something Faith and Judy said on The Literacy View: we don’t have a literacy crisis, we have a leadership crisis.
I also appreciated Hattie’s reminder and you said that what we teach MUST align with research. Like you, I think structures are powerful for supporting teacher expertise. In my own work with teachers, I use something similar to PDSA:
we start with a briefing (here’s the lesson and why we’re doing it),
observe the learning impact and moments of confusion,
debrief to analyze impact and plan next steps,
then study student work as we refine.
What I find is that there are always teachers, as Hattie said, who are excellent. Too often we focus conversations on who is not getting impact, rather than highlighting who is. I agree with you — and with Hattie — that leaders need to be courageous and prioritize scaling what successful teachers are doing so those practices ripple across staffrooms.
That way, we’re talking about what to teach (aligned to research) while also lifting up teacher expertise as the driver for scaling success.
Yes, I agree..PDSA cycles are much more effective when it's a team effort and leadership doesn't just allow for it but leads it, prioritizes it and takes leadership action based upon it. So often, in schools what is not working is talked more than what is working. I keep sharing this podcast but I will again with the hopes that you will share it as well because I think it's a missing piece of many schools right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlrZvoGh1sw&t=4s
Thank you! Listening now…🎧🎧🎧
Reading your article through the lens of someone who coaches literacy teachers across schools in the U.S., I was struck by how your process exemplifies scaling teacher excellence, something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
What I love most about your piece is the central theme: we can study teaching, be curious about it, and look closely at where it works and has significant impact. Then, where there are confusions, we can untangle them to create even more impact.
I particularly appreciated how you began with an inquiry question: “How can English phonics instruction be adapted to leverage multilingual learners’ existing language strengths?”
The Study Plan you described—adjusting programs to meet students’ needs, adding a third day to move from decoding to meaning-making, and reinforcing learning through vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension demonstrates exactly this kind of thoughtful adaptation. I love the focus on integrating oral language development, cross-linguistic transfer, and targeted supports to deepen understanding in both English and Spanish.
The Teach and Reflect approach also resonated deeply. It emphasizes reflecting not just on teaching, but on student learning and impact—examining what caused impact and how we can replicate it. This isn’t just about programs or labeling some teachers as “excellent.” It’s about creating conditions where we study what excellent teachers do and help others do the same.
This is exactly the work we need, and I’m so glad to see it happening. It’s the work I strive to do every day in my own practice. Let’s keep the conversation about scaling teacher excellence front and center during the 2025/26 school year. Our students need us to keep that idea front and center!
Here’s a podcast that just dropped today on this very topic. My friend the amazing @OliviaWahl from Schoolutions interviewed John Hattie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlrZvoGh1sw&t=8s , and here’s my own article on scaling teacher excellence https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/p/one-reality-isnt-enough-a-call-to?r=4uwjft. Have a great start to the year.
I love this: "We can study teaching, be curious about it, and look closely at where it works and has significant impact. Then, where there are confusions, we can untangle them to create even more impact.
Hi, are you willing to share the slides you created around the sight words where to added meaning to the word like the “they” example? We are currently working on creating our own. I really appreciate your study and article!
Pls send me your email (cgoldenberg@stanford.edu) and remind me of your request.
I'll forward to Rafely.
Rafely and Claude,
I love this post! You described the process that you went through with your colleagues so well. I appreciate how thoughtfully you considered the research and your students' strengths and needs. This is bizarrely aligned to a project that I am working on with a local school district, and I can't wait to share your ideas and modifications with them. Rafely- I am reaching out to you on LinkedIn to hopefully talk more, and Claude - thank you for giving Rafely a platform to share this amazing work.
This is exactly what I needed! I recently started using UFLI with my high school students who are new to the country—some of whom have limited or interrupted formal education. Your shared experience provides a helpful starting point for me to be more intentional about integrating oral language development as I work to build reading skills in English.
Is the modification for phonemic awareness missing?
I would also be interested in any of your slides if you’re willing to share. I’m currently needing exactly this for my students.
Laura, sorry.. did anyone reply to this? If not, pls email me at cgoldenberg@stanford.edu and I'll foward to Rafely.
Very well done! Bravo!!!