The Principal's Handbook

A Principal's Guide to the Science of Reading with Kari Walchalk
[00:00:00] This episode is part of the National Literacy Month with RAF campaign, , a partnership with the B podcast network and reading is fundamental to host numerous productive conversations across our network of podcasts about developing kids reading and literacy skills for life.
Welcome to the Principal's Handbook, your go to resource for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self care. I'm Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Tune in each week as we delve into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness.
From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work life balance, I'm Barb Flowers. We'll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. Welcome to a podcast where your wellbeing is the top priority.
Well, welcome everyone to the podcast today. [00:01:00] Our guest is Carrie Walchuk, who was actually a teacher when I was a principal. So I'm so excited to have her on the podcast. She was a title one teacher in my time as a principal and then became a literacy coach for the district, which was really exciting because that was a new role for us.
And in my time that I got to work with Carrie, , Carrie, she brought to me what the science of reading was and we got to roll that out into the building together. So a lot of great times and a lot of literacy learning together. So I'm very excited to have her on the podcast. She's done a lot of professional development and growth in this area and is very knowledgeable.
So , we're going to ask her a lot of questions, and then I'm also going to give her information at the end if you want to reach out to her. I know she loves talking science of reading, so, , but we are going to just start, Carrie, if you want to talk about yourself and give people a little bit of background of how you became someone who was interested in the science of reading.
All right. , thank you for that wonderful introduction. [00:02:00] Yeah. , my interest and growth in the science of reading came through, , when I was in title one . And of course, we're working with small groups, we're trying, all different types of strategies and interventions. And then, , I got the opportunity to attend an International Dyslexia Association, Northern Ohio branch, , workshop for an entire day.
And the speaker at the time, , had published, , a book called, On the functional MRIs and how they were able to see inside the human brain during a task, , like reading. And then she showed these, , MRIs. Where a child had received, a certain type of intervention and it literally changed the brain, the parts of the brain that were lighting up, , changed and matched more of.
a typical [00:03:00] reader compared to a dyslexic reader. So they started out with dyslexic, , brain scans, and then got this intervention, and then the brain changed. And that just blew my mind. And I was like, , what do we got to do? What do we got to do to change brains, because I didn't even know that was possible.
So through the use of the International Dyslexia Association's resources, And, , website and things like that, , we started diving into it. I also went to see, , down in Columbus, another international dyslexia association, central Ohio, , workshop where David Kilpatrick, , was speaking. And again, he's sharing, What the brain is actually doing when it's processing and reading and then here are the things that you can do.
And one of those missing pieces was this phonemic awareness and we were like, Oh, my gosh, this is crazy. [00:04:00] How come I don't know this? How come I didn't come out of college knowing this? And so that started just, , A deep dive for myself and a couple other colleagues, and we just were like, okay, this makes total sense.
So we have got to get educated and start the move.
So , what tips do you have as an instructional leader? What are the most effective strategies for principals to lead literacy initiatives in their schools? I think, , we need to encourage, opportunities where teachers have the time to actually learn, , where book studies come into play, or attending workshops, or PD days where They can get together and look at their, , data and drill down and see what it is, , that is a weak area and share instructional strategies across classrooms and across grade levels.
Also, I think, , principals can encourage risk taking. Trying new [00:05:00] things without a fear of gotchas, we're all in this together. We're all shifting. There shouldn't be a penalty for, trying something because that's where we can learn. We learn from our mistakes, right? , and again, encouraging that.
Discussion on , our results. So choosing, helping teachers choose appropriate assessments that then, , can reflect changes in the instruction. So if we're not seeing changes. It's really the RTI model or the, , where, you're trying an intervention. If you're not seeing, your progress monitoring that using an appropriate assessment tool, if you're not seeing any change, then we need to change an instructional strategy.
Yeah, and I want to encourage you to as a principal that if you don't know something or you know how to go about doing this and working with your teachers to find someone that you can go to. So for [00:06:00] me, one of the reasons I brought Carrie on is as a principal, I felt comfortable with teaching reading, but then the science of reading came out and things change.
And so I had to be really open and curious and learn. And then go to Carrie, who became a wealth of information, constantly researching and learning and getting trainings. And using what she knew to help guide the teachers. So if you have somebody in your district or building like that, , partnering with them and utilizing that to help you as the instructional leader in your building is really going to help support the teachers because you never want to feel like you have to be the one that knows everything because you just can't.
And being open to getting other people to help with that because Carrie, as the literacy coach did . So many trainings with the teachers that was so beneficial and helpful. And the other thing I want to say about that, I think what I've seen in Ohio, and I specifically want to speak to the district we were in [00:07:00] because we did the state put out modules for the science of reading and districts could do it , , different ways.
They could have teachers do it independently or they could have a facilitator and Carrie was our facilitator. I think it was very well done because teachers actually had to engage in the modules because Carrie taught them and ask questions and then they took a quiz. It wasn't just , I'm going to take the quiz and then keep taking it until I don't fail.
, they really were engaged in the content. And we know that teachers need 30 hours of professional learning on a topic to actually get better at something. And in the past, I don't feel like we've done that. I've never had 30 hours of professional learning except for in college on a specific topic.
And so with the science of reading, , we were able to do that with the model that we chose of how to facilitate it. So I think you brought up a really good point of making sure that teachers have the correct training of. What they need to know and the knowledge they need to have with an initiative like that.
How can principals [00:08:00] best utilize teacher leaders to support and enhance literacy instruction across the school? Well, again, those are the people who, may have the knowledge or beginning to build that knowledge and even those people need a support system. Getting those people together in, in a group to do a book study or share something, and then they can be the person that's the go to because obviously there's 1 principal and lots of teachers.
So it's so much easier when the teacher or in the principal can say, hey, so and so knows how to do that. Particular strategy or knows a lot about how to modify, , something for a child who's struggling. How about you go, I'll make the time for you to go talk with them about it. So it's basically, sharing The wealth, if you will, then you trying to be the, I know it all, or I've got a, I've got to get to everybody.
Those teacher leaders can become facilitators of other [00:09:00] teachers knowledge. They can do model lessons, , and having that open, risk taking, , environment or culture. In the school where it's okay for me to not know something. Yeah. And it's okay for me to go get some help from another colleague that colleague's not going to look down on me.
My principal's not going to look down on me. We're all, , it's a help type environment. Yeah. And I will say one of the things we did last year with some of our title teachers went into the classroom, they did a push in model and it was really great because Not only were they in the classroom and they were servicing more kids, but the teachers, the classroom teachers got to watch them teach in this explicit way.
That's different than they ever taught before. And it was almost like having PD ongoing PD in their classroom all the time. So they were learning as they were working with this title teacher. And we saw a lot of growth in that as well. So I think [00:10:00] utilizing, like Carrie said, those teachers to model lessons, teach lessons.
That's such a great way. To help people feel supported. That's our plan to for our new, , initiative for our new curriculum. , we've, , are opening up, that opportunity if teachers want that support if they want that title 1 teacher in there to model for a few weeks so that so they can get comfortable with the procedures and things like that.
That's going to be. Open and I think if those opportunities go well, word gets out. Oh, so and so can show you how to do that. And it really helps, , support everyone then. Yeah. And as the principal, also , you have to step back and Carrie and I had a lot of conversations with us as a coach principal relationship.
That we would talk and coordinate, but she couldn't share things with me. Like she was confidential for those teachers because nobody wanted to feel judged or anything like that, like behind closed doors. We were talking about them. So we were very clear about that. And so you want to be [00:11:00] clear when , you're facilitating this and trying to encourage teachers to do that.
That When they work with that teacher, you're not going to that teacher who's working with them or that coach and then asking , Oh, how'd they do? Or, , talking about them in any way you have to create this culture of safety that it's okay to not get it right. And it is confidential, whatever happens between you and that person that's modeling the lesson.
That's a huge component of Coaching. Yes, there has to be a trusting relationship. , nobody's, going behind anyone's back to it's not evaluative at all in nature. It's all about learning. , the coach, I've learned so much just from being in people's classrooms, it's a give and take.
You may have expert knowledge up here, but getting in front of that particular group of children, , with their special needs, that is the classroom teacher's expertise. They know those kids best. So when I say, Hey, let's try this. And they just [00:12:00] like, Oh, I don't know if that'll work because of blah, blah, blah, that's a trust thing.
That is a total trust thing. Yeah. That's a great point., with all of the information out there on the science of reading, how can principals efficiently educate themselves without becoming overwhelmed or overwhelming teachers? Because I think that is easy to do. Yes, , podcasts are definitely beneficial because if they're short in time and you're driving somewhere, you again, , you can, , get the information.
Start to get the information to your head, but you want to choose reliable resources. , so the reading league, , I highly recommend, , their resources, , Tim Shanahan, if you haven't read his blog, , again, they're short reads. But it's research based, so you're not going to be, actually reading the research.
Someone else has done that and then paraphrased it, which again makes it efficient to get that information. Anita Archer has some, , wonderful videos out there on [00:13:00] instructional strategies that are very short, but, , but focused. , and you really, I think as a principal, when , you're trying to educate yourself and then you're trying to educate your teachers, focus on one to two elements at a time.
Don't try and overhaul the whole thing at once. Look at your data, go with , the lowest level skill, that's the prerequisite to others and then get that honed in. Hone in that those strategies that are going to improve that piece of data. , for example, a cadence, , early on, we're looking at, , letter naming speed, and then we're looking at phoneme segmentation and then nonsense word reading.
So when you're looking at your data, , go back and find the first one. That's the prerequisite skill. Make sure you've got 80 to 85 percent of your kids, That are getting that with your core instruction and then pick off the next piece and the next piece. So take small bites [00:14:00] because it's yeah, it's a lot.
, yeah, and I love that because I used to look even as a classroom teacher at a cadence. , I just focused on the composite score. How many of my kids are green and yellow and red and then really, with this shift and how we did it. You helped a lot with focusing on those prerequisite skills, and that makes it way less overwhelming when you're saying, Hey, , look at this.
This is where we're at. This is where we need to make progress. And we used our PLC's and we had a, PD days and a lot of conversations to slowly build those scores up. So it wasn't this. Big, overwhelming thing. It was like, we're just focusing on this one area, looking at strategies in that specific area.
What role should principals play in ensuring that evidence-based reading practices are consistently implemented across all classrooms? And I'm saying this, if you've already implemented the science of reading and you've, given teachers plenty of pd, this is obviously not if you've not done that , but if you [00:15:00] are in a place where you've already done the PD and you're like, okay.
How do I ensure that these practices are consistently implemented that I would, again, go back to the whole idea of, , looking at your data, asking questions, when you're doing walkthroughs and things like that, and then you have an opportunity to meet with that teacher later, , just to begin asking questions about, why did you choose that particular strategy?
, how does that align? , with what we've been learning about the science of reading, and then having those discussions about the data. So you're sitting down, you're looking as a PLC together, and they, we are making progress or we're not making progress. And if we are not making progress, then What instructional strategies do we need to reflect on and try or, , learn new ones if the ones if we're what we've run out of ideas, and we've tried [00:16:00] this and tried that we're not seeing improvement, then what type of resources can I provide to you to help you improve.
I think the word accountability can get a bad rap. But really that is part of the key we're all holding ourself accountable to make sure that the strategies we're choosing are efficient and productive because sometimes I think , we love to do an activity, but we haven't necessarily
made sure that activity is effective. the most useful for our time. a lot of research has come out about silent reading. We want kids to read, we want them to be able to choose their own books and so on and so forth. But without a purpose for silent reading, then you're just hoping that when the book is open in front of the kids, That they're actually reading.
Yeah, because you're not holding them accountable. Making sure that we're not only holding the [00:17:00] teachers accountable for the right practices, but what are the teachers doing to hold the students accountable for, showing that they're understanding what they're reading. And you're right.
We hate that word, but as you're talking, I'm thinking about it. We use it all the time in life, right? That's my whole job as a life coach. I hold people accountable towards reaching their goals because that's how we get there. It's so easy if we're not held accountable just as humans and how our human brain works to be like, Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be working on that, right?
, it's just part of life, very few people have that discipline that can do things without being held accountable in some way. So I think we do need to change the word and how it's used and as you're saying that, I was thinking of the word fidelity. We laugh because teachers are like, I hate the word fidelity after the science.
But it is such an important word, right? , we talk about fidelity all the time. And in any programs you're doing, , is it being done with fidelity? , we were having that conversation all the [00:18:00] time because it goes right along with accountability. If we have a curriculum, we And we're not doing it how it's intended to be done.
And then we look at our data and we're like, what's going on? Well, is the curriculum even being done with fidelity? So I feel like those 2 kind of go hand in hand. Yes, definitely. It's a sick exercise. You're supposed to exercise, but if you're like me, I need to have scheduled a trainer.
Somebody hold me accountable for showing up on Saturday morning at 9 a. m. to do it, or class or something like that, because otherwise, you're busy with life and you just, lose track of that. So, well, And I think that's a good example of, . Everybody needs different levels of accountability.
So I don't need a trainer, but I utilize my Apple watch as my accountability. If I don't get my steps and I don't get my, rings, then I'm like, . Man, if my watch wasn't charged, why would I work out? I work out to get that. Like I use that as my [00:19:00] accountability. So I think that brings up a good point too, that every teacher might need a different level of accountability for some teachers.
Accountability just might be their team or a checklist that they have, , but other teachers, it might be that they need more support from the reading coach or they need their principal or an administrator. To check in with them. You know, That looks different for everybody, but that accountability piece is so important.
What are some key indicators principles should look for when they're really evaluating if their current literacy program is effective? , again, it comes back to that tier one core instruction. Are your kids, are you getting 80 to 85 percent of your students to the benchmarks on the individual assessments, from the get go?
If you don't, if you don't have that, then trying to dig deeper into other things , is going to take you down a rabbit hole that it's hard to get out of. So you always want to [00:20:00] check on that core instruction. Is that getting us to 80 to 85%? If not, let's begin reflecting with the staff. Why do we think that we're not getting it yet?
Could it be? A fidelity issue. Yeah. Yeah. Or, what and what or and if that's the case, what are those barriers? Let's find out from the teachers, do we need more training? Do are we, for example, when we, started, moving down this road at our school, one of the resources we were lacking were, , decodable readers.
Okay. , we had plenty of phonemic awareness stuff. We had the phonics, but the kids weren't getting an opportunity to implement the use of those phonics in a controlled text where most of it, , was decodable. And so that was something that we needed. So we went out and purchased. The geodes, , to bring into the classrooms to help, , fill that gap.
So any type of [00:21:00] reflection that can identify the barriers to implementation or the training that's needed or the resources that are needed is going to be, effective. So we know when you're looking at your tier one, if it's not there, start digging deeper. What is it that's holding us back from getting that 85%?
Maybe it's student engagement. Okay, so now we can set teachers up with the coach or another colleague or whatever to come in and watch during my lesson. So I'm doing lessons where, , I'm doing the right things, but are my kids engaged? , that's hard to do when you're the person up in front.
Yeah. To make sure he's not playing with this pencil and Susie's not cutting her hair or whatever, but having another person sitting in there and marking, on task off task behaviors or engagement or not engagement, you know, and have a criteria that everybody is agreed upon this. This shows what engagement looks like, then, , we can reflect on that.
Honestly, because you were [00:22:00] busy teaching, but I was helping you watch to see, when they were or weren't engaged. Yeah, , I think that's a great point. And when it comes to. To a curriculum, we talked a lot about our last phonics program and, fidelity was a huge issue. And we actually got to a point where we realigned and , I feel like it got better.
But when we were looking at a new curriculum, we're like, do we keep this program? Do we not? And we actually decided that the fidelity had gone away so much. It was almost too hard to come back from with that same curriculum. So I say this just with some things to keep in mind that. And it is easy to get away with Fidelity, not knocking teachers, pay teachers, but with all the extra resources out there that teachers can find that match a curriculum, they start bringing in their own stuff.
And then , it just, it can really take away. From that fidelity quickly, and then you're not getting the results that program was intended for. So you really have to be careful. And now, as the [00:23:00] district is moving to a new curriculum, all of the companies when they were presenting said, you really have to follow this with fidelity for at least the first couple of years to know exactly the things you'd want to change.
Right, and it becomes an equity issue too. If whenever, if everyone is going out and getting different materials, then literally one classroom student's experiences can be completely different from the others. And that's, , that's a whole, that's an equity issue. It's, it can be seen from a parent's point of view or family's point of view, , it's not fair.
My, my kid was getting X, Y, Z homework or, works, whatever. And this one was not. Well, now you're like, Ooh, how do you justify that? And it is hard. It's a hard balance because I know teachers want autonomy, but , you're right. I mean, you have to watch because it does become an equity issue. And so it is that balance between autonomy for teachers, but equity for kids and making sure they get that experience and that they're getting everything that they [00:24:00] need.
Cause essentially that's what we're here for, . For the kids and to make sure they get the best education possible. So if you're a high school principal, so we've talked a lot about implementing literacy initiatives with elementary and kids learning to read.
But if you're a middle school or high school principal, what do you do if you have a problem? Teachers who might not know how to teach kids how to read and you have these struggling kids, I'm thinking more of kids who probably at this point are on an IEP, , but really cannot read and they are in, 6th through 12th grade, how do you help those kids or what steps could districts take at that point?
That's the big challenge. It's a , huge factor. And you're right. Most of the students who get to that level, , and who are struggling are on IEPs. So making sure that your, , special ed staff is the most knowledgeable people on campus. On the science of reading and what to because they become a huge resource for the [00:25:00] classroom teachers, , especially in code teaching settings or how they're effectively going to use their time.
If, , the students still remain in a resource room. So utilizing, , technology. Say you're, 9th grade, , student and you're reading like at a 6th grade level and we want to still make sure that 9th grade student is getting the content. , in their reading instruction that is ninth grade level, because a lot of times that's not the issue , they can comprehend they can orally comprehend things in their social studies and science classes at a ninth grade level.
So then it becomes important for the teachers to use resources like the read, write Google, where things can be read to them. So we're getting in the content. Okay. But then you've got to look at their schedule and make another block of time where we're still teaching them. The underlying and prerequisite components to, , read accurately to [00:26:00] understand the meanings of words, comprehension strategies taught explicitly.
So when you're looking at the older grades. Use your special ed department as the most knowledgeable people and send your gen ed staff to them and trust that they will educate, the classroom teachers on how they can make accommodations and modifications for those students to still get the high rigor.
grade level text exposure, but then find another time in their schedule where the students can keep getting remediation. So we can't just accommodate, accommodate, accommodate, because then we end up with, , seniors who are graduating, they're still reading at a third or fourth grade level. Well, that's just unacceptable.
You know, honors English students by 12th grade? Probably not, but you've got to get them to a meaningful level of reading where it's not going to impede, you know, their potential in the workforce. What level would you [00:27:00] say that is? What grade level?
I would say 5th or 6th because the average newspaper is written at about a 5th or 6th grade level. So we can't let them drop anywhere below that. I think you're risking their, potential future in the workforce. Yeah. And I do want to share, I know, Carrie has worked with some high school kids.
You just have to be really. Open and honest with them because at that point, they don't want to learn to read. Their confidence is so low. I can think of specific students that really struggled throughout and we weren't implementing the science of reading. And so they didn't get those strategies.
And so by the time you're a high schooler. And you're still struggling to read, and they know how far behind they are. It really is such a huge barrier and it's a confidence issue. So I think being authentic with them about that and what they need to do. Do you have any advice for that? Yes, I think it's extremely important that you're directly honest with them about, because it's likely, and I'm, , obviously everybody's [00:28:00] IEP is different, but it's very likely that these children suffer from dyslexia, there's a huge proportion of the population that just has it.
Right. So, but it's not right. It doesn't define them. All right. It doesn't you have this condition. It is going to be more difficult for you to learn to read, but you are capable or, unless you have brain damage. Okay, or you are significantly cognitively impaired. That's a whole other group of student body.
You can be taught to read. It's going to take more time. It's going to take more effort on your part. Okay. But I am here to help you, right? I'm not giving up. I'm not, , saying, Oh, well, we're just going to read everything to you. No, you're going to have to do the hard work, but in the end, , it's going to pay off.
So I have always shown those students examples of people who are extremely successful. Whoopi Goldberg, [00:29:00] Tom Cruise, , Steven Spielberg was identified late in life with dyslexia and look how successful these people are. So , this condition that you have, it doesn't define you. It actually can bring out other strengths.
in you, but you have to believe that I can help you and you have to be willing to put the work in. So, it's a relationship issue. They have to trust you and there can be no judgment, no judgment at all. It's hard to hold, literally a straight face, when you're in a ninth or 10th grade class and you're teaching them something and they don't know it. And it literally inside your head, you're going, I can't even believe this.
I can't even believe you're in 10th grade made all the way to 10th grade and you don't know this. Yeah. , or this word or this concept, whatever, but you've got to be the one that holds a straight face and makes no judgment about that.
A lot of times I, [00:30:00] have seen situations where, a teacher is. , just not aware, not anything that they're doing intentionally, but a statement like, you don't know the meaning of that word.
And it sends that message of you should have, you should know this. And we can't afford that type of breakdown in relationship with our older students. They will just say. Oh, clearly you've identified me. I'm already stupid. , and I'm not gonna listen to you anymore. Really? It's a matter of you don't assume anything and you don't make a judgment on what they know or don't know or what they should know.
You just give them what they need. Yeah, I think that's great. And you think of us as adults, right? If somebody did that to us, we'd be so defensive. And so I think as students, I mean, really even upper elementary, you just have to talk to them authentically. , and like you said, it's all about that relationship and being open and honest and why this is important.
What's the [00:31:00] purpose. And so as principals, I think you can really Model this for teachers and have conversations with them about it and be the person championing for these students that you can read and. , because that's the thing as a principal that I love is that we get to have that long term relationship with kids.
Sometimes intervention specialists do, but classroom teachers, it's usually a year, a semester. And as the principals in the building, I was in elementary, I got. These kids for six years of that relationship. And so if you're with these older kids, you can really be encouraging them for that time and working with teachers and even letting them know how far they've come or what you know about their, you know, ,, whether it's a confidence issue or anything that you know, that can help support them because , we really want to get kids reading at least at a fifth or sixth grade level, like Carrie said, so that they can be Successful in the workforce and successful in life.
, when these older kids, begin , to buy in, I've noticed is when they can see the growth in front of them. You know what I mean? So [00:32:00] doing assessments along the way. And making those tiny increments , of success, moving up your number of words, correct, or, , increasing your, vocabulary from one test to another, that a, that point a to point B, if they see growth, then they're less likely to give up.
If you're just sharing the grades, Oh, you gotta B, you gotta C, you gotta A, you gotta whatever, and that it's not specific and aligned with what it is that you're instructing them on, then they don't understand the amount of effort that they're putting in is giving them that payoff.
Right. So seeing the data, look, honey, , you grew from here point on this same type of test to this point, look at that growth. That means the work that you're doing is paying off. It provides them hope , Oh, I'm moving in the right direction. You can see the target, , you're trying to get to, and you're headed , in the right direction.
Well, thank you so much for being here today, Carrie, lots of [00:33:00] great insights on the podcast. Thanks. I enjoyed it. . Well, principals, if you want to reach out to Carrie, , I will put her information in the show notes because she is a great resource.
If you want to talk science of reading or, , want to get some resources. And go back to that podcast that we did in the teacher burnout podcast. That's a great beginning for the science of reading. And a lot of resources are linked in there as well.
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