Literacy is a critical component for success at all levels of education from early childhood through adulthood. Since 2013, 38 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented new policies focused on evidence-based reading instruction—and the RELs have been here to support them all along the way. In this latest update to the RELs Make a Difference blog series, we’ll look at how two RELs are supporting statewide literacy goals, the implications for scaling these efforts statewide, and how they’re using other IES and Department of Education resources to help states learn what works. These REL partnerships aim is to create a ripple effect: better-trained coaches and teachers, improved teaching practices, and ultimately, higher academic achievement for EL students.
REL Southeast
Alabama Research Partnership on Improving English Learner Outcomes
The Alabama State Department of Education’s motto is Every Child. Every Chance. Every Day. The state’s Framework for English Learner Success notes that the number of English learners (EL) in Alabama has increased significantly in recent years, and affirms the state’s commitment to “access to high-quality instruction based on research and data-informed policies, services, and practices” for EL students. REL Southeast is providing intensive training and strategic coaching on evidence-based teaching practices to support English learner students in the state through a partnership with the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) and multiple school districts.
“I liked that we studied the information first and then were given the opportunity to deliver it to the teachers.”
—ALSDE EL Regional Specialist
First, REL Southeast trained 12 ALSDE regional EL specialists and 13 district facilitators on the four key teaching strategies from the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle Schools. REL Southeast built upon an accompanying Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) Facilitator’s Guide developed by REL Southwest to inform the monthly training.
In turn, the regional EL specialists and district facilitators delivered these trainings to school teams of three teachers and an instructional specialist or administrator. The REL assisted by providing evidence-based instructional and coaching practices to support the implementation of the practice guide for EL students in grades K through 8. One of the PLC teachers has volunteered to model these instructional practices in a video recording, which will be shared with local and national organizations to support other practitioners with implementation.
To build on the training and coaching, ALSDE asked REL Southeast to evaluate the High-Quality Instruction and Assessment (HQIA) for English Learners Protocol. Developed with support from the Region 7 Comprehensive Center, HQIA outlines five key teaching strategies designed to boost EL students' learning. The study will focus on how HQIA is being used in classrooms, how closely teachers are following it, and its impact on both teaching methods and student outcomes compared to schools not using HQIA.
REL Southeast is supporting early childhood leaders and preschools implement evidence-based literacy practices through South Carolina’s Partnership to Implement Professional Learning: Emergent Literacy (PLC-EL). This partnership supports preschools’ use of emergent literacy materials developed by REL Southeast in 2020. REL Southeast will coach partners in implementation, support a professional learning community to learn about barriers to implementation, and conduct an applied research study to evaluate the implementation and impact of the professional learning community on teacher practice and student outcomes.
“We have already heard from several facilitators how effective the PLC-EL model is for giving a safe place for strong conversations. This has been a tremendous and exciting project…we are hopeful to meet all the high expectations IES, the REL, REL Governing Board, and USDE have charged us with through this process.”
—Wendy Burgess, Team Lead, Office of Early Learning and Literacy, SCDE
As part of this project, REL Southeast is providing intensive coaching to staff at 7 preschool centers. At each preschool, a leader (like an executive director or principal) champions the full implementation of PLC-EL, a facilitator engages in coaching activities, and teachers participate in PLC-EL sessions. REL Southeast works with these site teams to execute all 12 PLC-EL sessions, support facilitators in their role as trainer and coach, and ensure the sustainability of PLC-EL practices. Simultaneously, REL Southeast supports school leaders and teachers in overcoming hurdles and applying emergent literacy practices in classrooms.
During coaching activities, REL Southeast facilitates continuous improvement cycles with the site teams to refine partnership activities and assess needs. The teams, with support from REL Southeast, will implement the PLC-EL, function as a community of practice, analyze implementation drivers, establish feedback loops, and contribute to the partnership’s research study.
But REL Southeast’s PLC-EL project isn’t just about making a difference in a few classrooms—it also aims to develop scalable practices that can be adopted by preschools across the state. REL Southeast’s forthcoming applied research study is focused on evaluating the impact of PLC-EL on teachers' knowledge and instructional practices and on children's print knowledge, phonological awareness, vocabulary, oral language skills, and school readiness. The study will investigate the conditions, facilitators, and barriers affecting the implementation of PLC-EL in prekindergarten sites, aiming to leverage practice-to-policy opportunities and inform broader implementation strategies, helping to bring effective literacy practices to more educators and students throughout South Carolina.
REL Northwest
Alaska Literacy Strategic Plan Partnership
“I loved our professional development. The breakout sessions were great. People were talking about it…the discussion was rich.”
—State Leader
As identified by Alaska’s Education Challenge, literacy is the top priority for Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED). With support from REL Northwest, the Alaska Literacy Strategic Plan Partnership developed evaluation questions and identified data sources for measuring progress toward their Strategic Reading Plan progress. REL Northwest supported AK DEED to understand a range of reading assessment data and prepare data displays for the Alaska Science of Reading Symposium as they analyzed literacy and reading data from early childhood assessments, Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools, the National Assessment of Student Progress, and a district survey focused on reading practices, curricula, and assessments. The REL also supported AK DEED in the development of data displays and related questions to help share, interpret, and discuss data with conference participants. REL Northwest also helped AK DEED revise their District Reading Survey and supported AK DEED staff members to analyze and interpret data from the survey and data from literacy screeners which are required statewide for kindergarten through grade 3 students. These supports are ultimately intended to support the professional development of Alaska’s educators in the service of improving student outcomes and sparking impactful conversations among state leaders about Alaska’s reading performance and innovative strategies to improve student outcomes.