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 Real Cost of Curriculum Hopping: Why Districts Spend Millions and Move Nothing
If you've adopted three reading programs in five years, this is for you Every district leader has felt the pressure. Scores didn't move. The board wants action. Vendors are circling. So a new curriculum gets adopted again and the cycle repeats. After three or four...
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Why Most Coaching Models Don’t Change Teacher Practice (And the One Approach That Does)
If your coach is a glorified resource finder, your coaching model is broken Every district has them: instructional coaches with packed calendars, beautifully organized resources, and...
Principals: Your Master Schedule Is a Literacy Statement. What Does Yours Say?
Show me your bell schedule and I'll tell you what your school believes about reading Every principal will tell you literacy is their top priority. And then they'll hand you a master...
The Hidden Cost of ‘Good Enough’ Reading: What 3rd-Grade Scores Predict About Your 8th-Grade Crisis
Your middle school problem started in second grade. Here's the math Every middle school leader has lived this moment: a student walks into 6th grade reading two sometimes four years...
Your MTSS Isn’t Broken. Your Tier 1 Is
Why piling on interventions can't fix what core instruction is missing If your MTSS team is drowning, your problem isn't your MTSS. It's that 60–80% of students should be succeeding...
7 Things a 20-Minute Classroom Walkthrough Will Tell You That a Data Meeting Won’t
Spreadsheets lie. Classrooms don't Every principal we've ever coached has had this experience: the data says one thing, but the moment you walk into a classroom, you see something...
The Science of Reading Isn’t a Curriculum. Stop Buying It Like One
A field-wide reset for every leader who's been sold a 'Science of Reading-aligned' product this year. Every vendor at every education conference this year slapped 'Science of Reading...
Why Your Reading Scores Aren’t Moving (Even Though Your Teachers Are Working Harder Than Ever)
Effort isn't the problem. Alignment is. Walk into almost any school in America right now and you'll see exhausted teachers. They're differentiating, intervening, looping in families,...
Why Literacy Improvement Still Feels Fragmented
What Schools Must Understand If They Want Real Reading Progress to Finally Hold Together There is a sentence school leaders say all the time. And when they say it, you can hear both...
Why Reading Comprehension Still Breaks Down
What Schools Must Understand About Why Students Still Struggle to Understand Text One of the most frustrating things teachers hear is this: “They can read it… but they don’t...
What Strong Literacy Walkthroughs Should Catch
What School Leaders Must Look For If They Want to Improve Reading Outcomes Walkthroughs are happening in schools every day. Leaders are in classrooms. They are observing instruction....
Why Reading Recovery Is Too Slow
What Schools Must Understand If They Truly Want to Close Reading Gaps There is a dangerous pattern happening in schools all over the country. And because it often sounds positive on...
Why Advanced Readers Still Need Support
What Schools Must Understand About Keeping Strong Readers Growing There is a quiet mistake schools make all the time. And because it often looks harmless, it rarely gets the attention...
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