The CSAS Blog
Written by educators. For educators.
Science of reading, MTSS, leadership, and special education insights from Dr. Chandra Williams and the CSAS team: the same thinking our partner schools get, published for everyone. Learn, grow, and take your system to the next level.
The Phonics Myth That’s Killing Your Middle School Readers
'They learned that in elementary' is the most expensive lie in your building Here's a sentence I hear in nearly every middle school I walk into: 'We don't teach phonics here, they learned that in elementary.' And here's what the reading data in those buildings...
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From Struggle to Strategy: How to Use Data to Drive Reading Growth in K–5
K–5 teachers are no strangers to the challenge of supporting students who fall behind in reading. But what if the key to accelerating growth isn’t more time but smarter strategy? The...
How to Use Diagnostic Assessments to Drive Reading Instruction and Close Gaps
Step 1: Understanding Diagnostics What Are Diagnostic Assessments? Diagnostic assessments are targeted tools used to identify the specific foundational reading skills that a student...
The Step-by-Step Blueprint for Implementing MTSS Without Overwhelming Your Staff
Implementing MTSS doesn’t have to feel impossible. This guide shows you how to launch a phased, sustainable Multi-Tiered System of Supports that builds teacher confidence, centers...
Making MTSS Work: Using Data to Drive Decisions and Accelerate Achievement
Explore how schools can use diagnostic, formative, and progress monitoring data to identify student needs, group effectively, and adjust instruction in real time. This is your...
How to Launch MTSS Without Overwhelming Your Staff: A 90-Day Implementation Guide
Ready to build a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that actually works without staff burnout or confusion? This guide shows you how to launch with clarity, capacity, and...
Rebuilding the Reading Brain: How to Restore Decoding Skills in Grades 3–8
If we want to close the reading gap, we must stop pretending it doesn’t exist after 3rd grade. This article shows how to rebuild decoding fluency in older students using smart,...
Don’t Skip Decoding: Students Can’t “Comprehend” What They Can’t Read
Too many students in Grades 3 - 8 are expected to "comprehend" texts they can't actually decode. It’s time to fix that. Here’s the research-backed roadmap to get it right. Let’s Get...
Why MTSS Looks Different from K–8 (And Why It Should)
No two learners are alike and no two grade bands should use a copy-paste approach to reading instruction or intervention. A powerful Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) flexes to...
How to Coach Parents in Summer Reading (Without Overwhelming Them)
A Teacher’s Guide to Equipping Families with Simple, Powerful Tools for At-Home Success Families Want to Help, They Just Need to Know How Parents don’t need degrees in literacy to...
The Summer Reading List That Actually Works (Because It’s Built for Your Kids)
How to Build Personalized, Purposeful Summer Book Lists That Build Fluency, Vocabulary, and Confidence One-Size-Fits-All Lists Don’t Work Sending home a generic summer reading list is...
Beyond Books: Summer Enrichment Activities That Strengthen Reading
Fun, Free, Brain-Boosting Ideas That Sneak In Literacy Without a Worksheet in Sight Learning Loss Doesn’t Have to Be Inevitable While traditional “summer packets” get tossed...
Stop the Summer Slide Before It Starts: How to Build a Summer Reading Culture at Home
A Teacher-Approved Guide to Empowering Families and Preserving Hard-Won Reading Skills The Summer Slide Is Real, But It’s 100% Preventable Research shows that students can lose up to...
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