Most fourth and fifth grade classroom teachers across the country share an expectation that their students have mastered reading basics in K-3. In grades 4 and 5, teachers are prepared to help students dive right in and navigate complex, grade-level text in all subject areas. But the data on fourth grade reading tells a different story.

In her second reflection on the new podcast series, Sold a Story by Emiliy Hanford, Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer and literacy expert, shares insights on Episode 5 and how we can all move literacy forward together.

Literacy changemakers Laura Stewart and Dr. Tracy White Weeden recently had a conversation about the tipping point for change in Texas and how the state can be a model of progress. Read on as they also offer five key takeaways for effective action!

Here we take an in-depth look at the Wicomico School District in Maryland, whose leadership and literacy team worked together to transform their approach to reading instruction. They saw, in return, strong student improvement.

Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer and literacy expert, has been reflecting a lot on the popular "Sold a Story" podcast series by Emily Hanford. Here she reacts to Episode 4 and an embedded misconception it shines a light on: that children learned to read in the same way they learned to speak.

Recently we sat down for a discussion with Jennifer Harris, 95 Percent Group's Chief Product Officer. She discussed her vision for the company's product ecosystem, what her must haves are for product design, and what drives her work every day. Read on to learn why the ecosystem matters, and how it’s poised to improve the literacy crisis in our country.

One key design element of the 95 Phonics Core Program is our approach to explicit and direct instruction of phonics that forms the basis of our product. Study after study proves the same thing: explicit and systematic phonics instruction is more effective than unsystematic or no phonics instruction, especially in at-risk readers.

Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer for 95 Percent Group, and Pamela Toman, executive director of TX Reads give an overview of how Texas is bringing big changes to literacy and offer best practices that districts across the country can deploy as they plan for the shift to evidence-based, structured literacy instruction.

Following a career as a teacher, administrator, and professional with Rowland Reading Foundation, Highlights Education Group, and The Reading League, Laura Stewart joined 95 Percent Group as Chief Academic Officer. She’s on a mission, and it’s an important one. Stewart says that children today are at risk of falling behind in school and life if they don’t learn to read proficiently by the end of third grade. Her goal is to help all children “flourish as literate citizens of the 21st century.”

Glen Rose Independent school District is a small, rural district outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Families who live in the community are often drawn to what the district’s website calls small town values with big time vision. “We were seeing a real lack of growth in reading skills among students,” said Mehgan Shuelke, an educational diagnostician and reading specialist. “We knew something needed to change.”