Adolescent Literacy miniseries, Episode 2

Moving the needle for adolescent readers, with Julie Burtscher Brown, Ed.D.

In the second episode of a special four-part Science of Reading: The Podcast adolescent literacy miniseries, Susan Lambert, Ed.D., speaks with Julie Burtscher Brown, Ed.D., a PreK–12 literacy facilitator. Julie talks about how she and her colleagues built a whole-school literacy initiative from the ground up, and what three years of data about it then revealed. Together, she and Susan also discuss why a few targeted, evidence-based practices (not sweeping overhauls) were what actually moved the needle for Julie’s students; how content-area teachers can begin supporting literacy without reinventing their lessons; and what real, measurable change can look like at the secondary level when a whole school commits to the same practices.

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Transcripts and additional resources:

Our Summer Learning Academy is back! Reserve your spot now to join Susan Lambert to dive deeper into the latest reading comprehension research.
Check out our Science of Reading resources for grades 6–8.
Connect with Julie Burtscher Brown on LinkedIn.
Learn more about the Project for Adolescent Literacy.
Explore Structured Literacy Interventions with Secondary Students.
Review the IES 2022 Practice Guide.
Watch Anita Archer: Secondary Reading—Implementing High-Leverage Practices.
Get ready for Season 3 of the Amplify podcast Beyond My Years.
Join our community Facebook group.
Connect with Susan Lambert.
Read the transcript.

Meet Our Guest(s):

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Julie Burtscher Brown

Julie Burtscher Brown, Ed.D., has worked at the intersection of instruction, intervention, and schoolwide systems as a structured literacy teacher, secondary special educator, teacher of multilingual learners (MLLs), MLL coordinator, and district PreK–12 literacy facilitator for Mountain Views Supervisory Union in Woodstock, Vermont. She established the Structured Literacy Program at Woodstock Union High School and Middle School and is a founding member of the Project for Adolescent Literacy (PAL), a national educator-driven effort to confront the adolescent literacy crisis and scale effective solutions. Her work is grounded in the experiences of her students and the opportunities that strong literacy instruction creates for them.

Meet our host, Susan Lambert.

Susan Lambert is chief academic officer of literacy at Amplify and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.

As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. A former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, she’s dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.

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Quotes

“Adolescent literacy is enormous and multifaceted. There's specialized instruction that needs to happen.”

—Julie Burtscher Brown

“If you think of the word ‘intervene’ as a verb, it means to take action to prevent a predictable outcome.”

—Julie Burtscher Brown

“Real, meaningful change can happen.”

—Julie Burtscher Brown

“What differs between the tiers shouldn't be the presence or absence of evidence-based instruction, but rather the intensity and the explicitness with which it's taught.”

—Julie Burtscher Brown

“We reframed the word ‘intervention’ as an action, not a place.”

—Julie Burtscher Brown