The ultimate goal of literacy professional development for teachers is for students to improve their reading and writing skills. Before this goal can be met, three stages must be completed......

Most people I meet who are not educators are surprised to learn that only about a third of America’s students read at a proficient level or above (NAEP Reading Scores). Susan’s report reviews the details of the process these states went through to pass legislation and support implementation of these literacy laws. Building improved knowledge about effective literacy instruction is a key element in all three laws, as is a focus on early reading instruction to try and catch young children before they experience failure. Unfortunately, as the report notes, passing legislation is not sufficient to make a difference – consistency in implementation of literacy laws is what’s needed....

The article addresses school coaches in general, but I think its message is important to literacy coaches, including educators who are trained to be building coaches for Keys to Literacy professional development programs.

Foltos starts the piece with a common question raised by new coaches: When can I share my experience and expertise with teachers I am coaching to help them improve?.......