Amplify
Season 9, Special Episode

Award-winning ways to put science into practice

Amplify’s 2024 Science of Reading Star Award winners share insights from their daily work. They reflect on why it’s so critical to stay grounded in evidence-based literacy practices and how they bring those practices into their schools and classrooms. Listeners will be inspired by the creative ideas of educators who are making a difference in the lives of students across the country. Winners honored in the episode in order of appearance are: Amber Hines, Vance County Schools, NC; Elizabeth Caton, Windber Area Elementary School, PA; Jamie Vannoy, Wirt County Primary Center, WV; Christine Michalik, Cicero School District 99, IL; Andrea Mason, County Line Elementary School, GA; A. Simone McQuaige, Prince George’s County Public Schools, MD.

Meet our guest(s):

Amber Hines, Elizabeth Caton, Jamie Vannoy, Christine Michalik, Andrea Mason, and A. Simone McQuaige

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Each of the 2024 Amplify Star Award winners have transformed their classrooms and empowered their students with the Science of Reading. These educators and leaders have gone above and beyond to light the path for students to pursue lifelong literacy. Award-winners featured in this episode include: Amber Hines, The Knowledge Builder; Elizabeth Caton, The Science of Reading Rookie; Jamie Vannoy, The Literacy Legend; Christine Michalik, The Knowledge Builder; Andrea Mason,The MTSS Maestro; and A. Simone McQuaige, The Changemaker.

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Meet our host, Susan Lambert

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Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the 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. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is 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.

Transcripts and additional resources

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Apply for the 2025 Amplify Science of Reading Star Awards
Learn more about our 2024 Star Award winners
Subscribe to Beyond My Years
Transcript

Quotes

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“There is no, ‘Let's try this. Let's try that.’ When it's evidence based, you know that it's proven to be effective.” —Amber Hines
“It's important that we are aligning our practices to standards and what the students are required to do—but also what they need.” —Elizabeth Caton
“If we don't make a conscious effort to utilize evidence-based practices, we are going to be failing our most at-risk populations.” —Jamie Vannoy
“All students should have the opportunity for multiple readings of the same text to build comprehension, to build fluency.” —Christine Michalik
“It's really important to utilize assessments, [to] make sure that my students are getting exactly what they need based on the data that I get from assessments, but also based on the data that I get from regular progress monitoring.” —Andrea Mason
“This is not something that can be just done at the schoolhouse. It involves the community and all of our community stakeholders.” —A. Simone McQuaige