Oct 6, 2026 · 33 min · 16 segments
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack, *The Reading…
Andy JohnsonHost
I was reading the National Reading Panel report over the weekend, something I do for enjoyment, and they had very positive things to say about reading recovery.
Now, why do you think it is that some people have a very negative view of reading recovery today?
Well, part of it is there's a lack of understanding And if you haven't experienced the training that's involved with reading recovery and the coaching and the accountability and thinking about students as individuals, you're going to miss the boat.
And also, sometimes when you're politically motivated or motivated by funds, you stick to a theory that's going to work for you to sell your product.
And I'd like to expand on that a little bit because it started as that in my district.
But I felt I had so much knowledge and experience to share that I created a coaching model the second part of the day for teachers because we had so many best practices to share, data that supported those research-proven strategies, intervention, which spilled over into the classroom.
And we built a comprehensive model within our school and within our district with reading recovery, push-in coaching, as well as staff development, and a lot of it centered around Mari Clay's theory.
And in California, probably 15 years ago, we went through a very, very horrible budget situation.
And they were, of course, eliminating things that worked, which was problematic.
And here I am knocking on leadership's door saying we cannot do away with reading recovery.
So thinking about reading recovery as part of a system instead of isolation is what made it powerful and effective.
And our superintendent, and I'm grateful, decided that, yes, we would keep reading recovery and we would send out teams to the neediest schools to try out this comprehensive model.
And it existed for many, many, many years because data showed what we were doing had a whole school effect, not just the four children that reading recovery teachers work with every day.
Very, very hard for me to accept that, as well as the teachers and leadership, because they knew that what we were doing worked.
But when the funding has dried up or the pendulum has swung in a different direction, and politics are affecting what we do, good things go away sometimes and we have to keep advocating for what's best for students.
I was reading the National Reading Panel report over the weekend, something I do for enjoyment, and they had very positive things to say about reading recovery.
Now, why do you think it is that some people have a very negative view of reading recovery today?
Well, part of it is there's a lack of understanding And if you haven't experienced the training that's involved with reading recovery and the coaching and the accountability and thinking about students as individuals, you're going to miss the boat.
And also, sometimes when you're politically motivated or motivated by funds, you stick to a theory that's going to work for you to sell your product.
And I'd like to expand on that a little bit because it started as that in my district.
But I felt I had so much knowledge and experience to share that I created a coaching model the second part of the day for teachers because we had so many best practices to share, data that supported those research-proven strategies, intervention, which spilled over into the classroom.
And we built a comprehensive model within our school and within our district with reading recovery, push-in coaching, as well as staff development, and a lot of it centered around Mari Clay's theory.
And in California, probably 15 years ago, we went through a very, very horrible budget situation.
And they were, of course, eliminating things that worked, which was problematic.
And here I am knocking on leadership's door saying we cannot do away with reading recovery.
So thinking about reading recovery as part of a system instead of isolation is what made it powerful and effective.
And our superintendent, and I'm grateful, decided that, yes, we would keep reading recovery and we would send out teams to the neediest schools to try out this comprehensive model.
And it existed for many, many, many years because data showed what we were doing had a whole school effect, not just the four children that reading recovery teachers work with every day.
Very, very hard for me to accept that, as well as the teachers and leadership, because they knew that what we were doing worked.
But when the funding has dried up or the pendulum has swung in a different direction, and politics are affecting what we do, good things go away sometimes and we have to keep advocating for what's best for students.
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