Lead Literacy Improvement With Clarity and Purpose
An Online Course for Building Principals and Instructional Leaders — Available by Module or as a Complete Course
Built for Leaders, Designed for Action
Keys to Literacy Leadership is an online course grounded in research on effective literacy instruction, school leadership, and the systems that support lasting improvement. Principals and instructional leaders play a critical role in student achievement, but leading literacy improvement can be challenging without a clear framework. This practical course helps leaders connect shared beliefs, evidence-based instruction, assessment, intervention, data use, professional learning, and collaborative team structures so schoolwide literacy priorities become consistent, responsive action that supports student growth across classrooms.
Self-Paced Learning:
Complete the full course or individual modules on your own schedule — no synchronous sessions required.
Two Ways to Enroll:
Purchase the full 8-module course with capstone (suggested), or choose individual modules based on your most pressing leadership need.
Evidence-Based and Leader-Focused:
Support consistent, evidence-based instruction across classrooms with strategic, research-based leadership moves.
Ready to Apply Immediately:
Level up from learning into action within your own school context through reflection, practical tools, and planning activities.
A Framework for Leading Literacy Improvement
Strong literacy improvement occurs when leaders connect vision, evidence-based practice, assessment, intervention, data use, professional learning, and collaborative teams into one coherent system. Keys to Literacy Leadership helps building principals and instructional leaders strengthen that system and take action that leads to clearer instructional decisions, stronger teacher support, and more responsive instruction for students.
- Shared Vision and Beliefs
Establish a clear, evidence-aligned literacy vision and translate it into consistent expectations and actions across classrooms. - Foundational Literacy Knowledge
Build the knowledge leaders need to understand how students learn to read and write and how to recognize strong instruction. - Universal Instruction and Structured Literacy
Examine Tier 1 instructional expectations and learn what to look for, ask about, and support during classroom observations. - Comprehensive Assessment Systems
Understand how screening, diagnostic, progress-monitoring, and outcome data work together to identify student needs and guide instructional decisions. - Intervention Systems
Strengthen Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention systems so support is timely, targeted, aligned to student need, and responsive to progress. - Data-Based Decision Making
Lead data routines that move teams from reviewing scores to making clear instructional decisions and documenting next steps. - Professional Learning and Collaborative Teams
Use coaching cycles, PLCs, and leadership teams to support consistent implementation and shared responsibility for student outcomes.
Complete the Full Course or Start With One Module
Keys to Literacy Leadership is structured so leaders can engage with the full system or enter at the point that addresses their most pressing need. Each of the 8 modules is designed to stand alone while also building toward a coherent whole.
- Choose individual modules focused on your most pressing literacy leadership needs, including assessment, intervention, data-based decision making, professional learning, collaborative teams, and more.
- Complete the full course to build a comprehensive framework that connects all eight modules and capstone into one coherent leadership system.
- Learn at your own pace through self-paced, asynchronous modules that fit your schedule.
- Apply learning directly through tools, scenarios, and planning activities connected to your own school context.
- Develop a focused 90-day action plan through the capstone experience, available with the full course.
Keys to Literacy Leadership — Course Overview
Explore the full course sequence or select individual asynchronous modules based on your school’s most pressing literacy leadership needs.
Module list
Module 1: Shared Beliefs and Vision (3 hours)
- Establish a shared literacy vision
- Examine beliefs about students, reading, and leadership courage
- Connect vision to daily practice
- Identify where to begin when improving a literacy system
- Translate beliefs into aligned systems and actions
Module 2: Foundational Knowledge (5 hours)
- Understand how students learn to read and write
- Learn key concepts related to oral language, word recognition, comprehension, and writing development
- Grasp how foundational literacy knowledge informs leadership decisions
- Apply literacy knowledge during walkthroughs, coaching conversations, and feedback
Module 3: Universal Instruction (3 hours)
- Recognize Tier 1 instruction as the foundation of a strong literacy system
- Identify critical features of Structured Literacy
- Examine whole-group and small-group instruction within Tier 1
- Support inclusive access for multilingual learners and students with disabilities
- Use leader-facing look-fors to observe and support literacy instruction
Module 4: Comprehensive Assessment (3 hours)
- Identify key components of a strong literacy assessment system
- Understand screening, diagnostic, progress-monitoring, and outcome data
- Use assessment data to guide instructional decisions
- Move beyond overall scores to identify specific student needs
- Support precise instructional responses through data
Module 5: Intervention Systems (3 hours)
- Identify essential elements of effective Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention systems
- Align intervention to student need, instructional focus, intensity, and progress
- Design schedules, staffing, grouping, and materials to support intervention
- Use evidence to determine whether interventions are accelerating student learning
- Maintain access to Tier 1 while providing additional support
Module 6: Data-Based Decision Making (3 hours)
- Use data to drive instructional decisions
- Structure data conversations so they lead to action
- Examine student growth, progress monitoring, and instructional response
- Document instructional adjustments and teacher action steps
- Connect schoolwide priorities to student-level instructional needs
Module 7: Ongoing Professional Development (3 hours)
- Design professional learning that leads to changes in instruction
- Connect professional learning to student data, observation evidence, and teacher needs
- Use coaching to strengthen implementation
- Provide feedback that is actionable and tied to instructional improvement
- Support consistent implementation across classrooms
Module 8: Collaborative Teams (3 hours)
- Identify conditions that make collaborative teams effective
- Clarify roles and responsibilities of PLCs, data teams, and leadership teams
- Structure team meetings so they lead to instructional action
- Use collaboration to strengthen shared responsibility for literacy outcomes
- Stay focused on the highest-impact work over time
Capstone: Literacy Leadership in Action (4 hours)
- Apply course learning to a current literacy challenge
- Analyze strengths, gaps, and evidence across the literacy system
- Identify a high-leverage instructional challenge
- Develop a focused, system-aligned 90-day action plan
- Move from reflection to implementation
Start Your Literacy Leadership Journey Today
Start with the literacy leadership challenge that matters most right now, or complete the full course to build a coherent system for lasting improvement. Keys to Literacy Leadership gives principals and instructional leaders practical, evidence-based tools they can use right away to support teachers, strengthen instruction, and improve outcomes for students.
