Professional Learning for Busy Educators

or an elementary school teacher who works with economically disadvantaged students, it can be discouraging to hear phrases like “significant achievement gap” or “30-million-word gap” in discussions of the reading and vocabulary development of our students. But research does bear those phrases out: There are clear trends of underachievement in academics for students of low socioeconomic status (SES).

I’ve taught in a Title I school in Northern Virginia for six years, with experience in fourth through sixth grades, and year after year, I work with students who are reading drastically below grade level. There are many things that affect my students that I can’t control, but research has shown that strong, intentional, and explicit instruction can positively impact the reading trajectories of all students, especially those with economic disadvantages.