We’re thrilled to share that a recent EdWeek article, “What Happens When Every Teacher in a School Has the Tools to Improve Reading?” features Reading Apprenticeship. The piece is part of a larger special report on Disciplinary Literacy.

EdWeek reporters interviewed several teachers and leaders, as well as WestEd staff Misty Sailors and Mary Stump. The story showcases the success of teachers and students using disciplinary literacy routines in Rich Township, IL, and Clarkston, MI, school districts. Fawn Phillips of Clarkston and history teacher George Vlahakis of Rich Township, describe how they see their students’ work accelerate and deepen with Reading Apprenticeship.

Vlahakis describes the benefits of a whole-school approach:

“Before the Rich Township district turned to a whole-school approach to disciplinary literacy, Vlahakis said he had already been teaching his students how to read, write and think like a historian. It used to take him three months to teach freshmen how to read, annotate, and think about a nonfiction text in the way that someone working in the history field would. But now that students are learning parallel strategies in their other classes, Vlahakis said students are getting comfortable and confident at a faster pace.”

And which of us doesn’t strive for the results articulated by Phillips who persisted with the Reading Apprenticeship framework and literacy routines over time:

“It took probably until my fifth year of doing it that a student sent me an email from college saying, ‘The strategies that you taught me, the things that we developed, I’m still using in college because it gets a lot harder, and the reading is not easy.’”

By implementing Reading Apprenticeship, districts like Clarkston and Rich Township are fostering a culture of advanced teaching and reading comprehension that benefits students in every subject.

Read the full EdWeek article here.

Interested in learning more?

Visit the Reading Apprenticeship Our Services page to explore resources, professional development opportunities, and see how Reading Apprenticeship can transform your school!