The newest front in the never-ending wars and squabbles over how to teach reading involves English language learners (EL), students learning to read (and write) in English while simultaneously learning to speak and understand it. In the wake of renewed prominence of research supporting an early focus on phonics and decoding (aka the “science of […]

Free Half-Day Event: Tuesday, October 19 | 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PT Join us for The California Reading Coalition’s First Annual Virtual Gathering. CORE, Pivot Learning and literacy leaders across California will share the opportunities and challenges to improve reading instruction and outcomes for all our students. The Annual Gathering is designed to be […]

Video: How to Ensure Remote or In-Person Reading Assessments Provide the Data You Need to Guide Instruction Watch this 20-minute video from Pivot Learning to hear Drs. Michelle Hosp and Louisa Moats discuss: Tips for conducting reading assessments remotely The pros and cons of computer adaptive assessments The value of timed tasks in reading assessment

Educators know that many students will need targeted instruction next school year to close gaps in reading. But that’s not enough. Educators need to know exactly where every student is at with specific reading skills, like phonics, so that instruction can target the exact skills students need support with. That’s where reliable assessment data comes […]

Near the start of the 2020-21 school year, El Rancho Charter Middle School in Anaheim, California, opened its doors to a hybrid model of instruction, with some students attending classes in person and some students attending simultaneously online. In this interview with Dean Ballard, CORE’s Director of Mathematics, principal Michele Walker shares the experiences at […]

Remote instruction has moved to the top of almost everyone’s list of concerns. We are asking ourselves how to do it, will students be there, what will actually be learned, and what will this mean when we return to face-to-face instruction? I cannot tackle all of this in one blog; however, I will share a […]

An important Conversation from the Center for the Collaborative Classroom with Zaretta Hammond on Instructional Equity. Reprinted with permission. Collaborative Classroom is dedicated to transforming the school experience, developing students, and empowering educators by deepening their teaching practices. Zaretta Hammond is one of Collaborative Classroom’s best thought partners in this work, consistently pushing their thinking […]

I write to you, colleagues in education, with a deep sense of sadness and unease as I continue to watch the events that are unfolding in our communities and in our nation. At no time that I can recall has our country been so divided and so traumatized. We have been living in the midst […]

CORE, Pivot learning, and Center for the Collaborative Classroom have been examining our own practices with a critical eye, looking for ways to better equip educators with the tools and support they need to connect with a diverse student population that has been adversely affected by school closures. When we look ahead, we understand school […]

Written by Arun Ramanathan, CEO, Pivot Learning, featured in EdSource Since schools were closed two months ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus, changes have come so fast it has been difficult to get our bearings. But as the educational picture has come into focus, it is clear that students are losing critical months […]

Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) in Watsonville, CA wasted no time. In early January as concerns about COVID-19 were just beginning to surface in the United States, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez moved quickly to implement a distance learning plan for the district in order to minimize the learning loss that would be unavoidable once […]

Reading is a complex process, but it can be explained through a simple equation built around five foundations of reading. It’s critical that educators understand the science behind how students learn to read and what skills they need to succeed in order to teach students to be skilled readers. At CORE, we care deeply about […]

Ann Leon, CORE consultant specialist in Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Sight words (SIPPS) reading foundational skills program, could not leave Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s primary grade teachers and children without resources. Even when she was to leave and the schools were closing, Ann worked tirelessly with the district personnel to ensure […]

by Susan Van Zant and Nancy Volpe, Educational Services Specialists, CORE What can be done to maximize the time that students are in school? There is no mystery about time. Students attend school a set number of hours each week and days each year. At each grade level they have a lot of skills and […]

I left graduate school fully convinced that this was axiomatic: The road to reading is paved on a foundation of meaning. Fortunately, I spent the first years after my degree as a first grade teacher in a bilingual school, teaching, or at least trying to teach, reading in English and in Spanish. I learned from […]