Current Families
Inquire
Give
Reading: A Guidebook
March 21st, 2024
Reading:
A Guidebook
Blog Series
What the science tells us about reading instruction and why it matters.
Navigate the Reading Guidebook as a blog series or fill out the form below to download the entire guidebook.
Intro by Josh Clark
Reading is the gateway to realizing the mind’s potential.
Reading is essential for economic independence and upward mobility.
Reading is the bedrock of our constitutional democracy.
Reading is a right we have allowed to become a privilege.
Today in the United States, an elementary school student would have better odds of surviving the Titanic than becoming a competent reader. Even before the prolonged school closures introduced by COVID, most American students failed to reach their reading potential.
This is not a new problem; it is a national crisis played out in classroom tragedies we have passively accepted for years. It is not the fault of overwhelmed teachers, well-meaning parents, or even bureaucratic school districts. It is our collective shrug when we should be screaming that allows the status quo to not only continue but also to deteriorate.
The good news is that America’s reading crisis is also artificial. Researchers have unlocked the complex inner workings of the reading brain, broadly referred to as the Science of Reading. Structured Literacy is the classroom application of this knowledge, an approach Dr. Charles Drake and his disciples began using more than 50 years ago at Landmark School.
We have the knowledge and tools needed to make nearly every child in our country a competent reader. It is complex, difficult work where the solution is broadly understood and its application highly personalized by the school and the circumstances of its students. The reading crisis, though, is not a problem in search of a solution. It is a tragedy in search of our will to right it.
Reading: A Guidebook Blog Series
Click on each of the images below to see that blog article. Or download the entire guidebook using the form.
The Reading Guidebook was compiled by representatives from Landmark School, empowering students with reading challenges, and Landmark Outreach, PD and coaching for educators.
About the Author
Josh Clark is the current head of Landmark School, located in Beverly, Massachusetts. A committed humanitarian, he champions the cause of neurodiversity in education and promotes the science of reading as a vehicle for education reform and social good. Past Board Chair of International Dyslexia Association, currently serves on the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and is an Expert Contributor to the global nonprofits Made By Dyslexia and Microsoft Education. He also co-founded the Association of LD Schools (ALDS) and serves on its board. Josh has presented about the importance of recognizing and supporting students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) all over the world. Josh is a lifelong educator. He began his career in education at Lausanne Collegiate School, an International Baccalaureate World School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he served as assistant head of the Middle School and a middle and high school English teacher for seven years. Prior to his current position at Landmark School, Josh served as the head of two different schools that serve students with dyslexia: the Bodine School in Memphis, Tennessee and The Schenck School in Atlanta, Georgia.
You can view all of our Guidebooks with links to blog articles, resources, and free downloadables.
