By RRCNA President Debra Rich

Greetings Reading Recovery Community,

What a wonderful time to be a Reading Recovery, Literacy Lessons, Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL), or L’intervention préventive en lecture-écriture (IPLE) Teacher, Teacher Leader, Trainer, Site Coordinator, and advocate for students learning to read and write! I’m sure you agree with me that we have the best job in the world. How rewarding it is to empower students to take charge of their learning and send them on the road to success. Many say our work is life-changing and I truly believe it is. Over 2.4 million children have benefited from caring, skilled Reading Recovery teachers!

Yet as a community, we face challenges. This is the fourth cycle of “Reading Wars” during my educational career. What was once considered ideological differences debated among academics has now spread to mainstream media due to politics, corporate greed, and a need to trend on social media. Bullying behavior is running rampant. But remember that bullying is often a front for insecurity when the programs you’re hawking are narrow in focus, aren’t backed by research or data, and simply don’t work with students. All you have left is to attack, deflect, and project misinformation. It’s logical that Reading Recovery comes under the bully’s attack because it is the intervention with the greatest success, one that has stood the test of time year after year after year.

I will not be deterred by this distraction. I am reminded of the word for “crisis” in Japanese 危機 (Kiki), which is written with symbols representing “danger” and “opportunity.” We have a choice. We can become victims of external pressures, or we can rise to the challenge this opportunity provides us.

Reading Recovery has a strong theoretical base.
https://readingrecovery.org/what-is-reading-recovery/early-literacy-processing-theory/

Reading Recovery has the research.
https://readingrecovery.org/scientific-research-base/

Reading Recovery has the data.
https://readingrecovery.org/what-is-reading-recovery/idec-national-summary-reports/

Reading Recovery (LL, DLL, and IPLE) works with students.
https://readingrecovery.org/legislative-resources/community-stakeholders/voices-from-the-field/

What can we do?

Bring your A+ game to every lesson. Recognize and build on each child’s unique strengths. Execute astute teaching moves based on close observations of each child’s literacy behaviors. Reflect daily on teaching and seek support from colleagues as necessary. YOU make a difference because YOU do whatever it takes!

Be an advocate. Share your story at the local, state, and federal levels.
https://readingrecovery.org/act-now/
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/responding-to-critics/
https://readingrecovery.org/legislative-resources/

Be a learner. Engage in your own professional development through the wide reading of professional texts, journals, and resources.
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/journals/ Members only
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/learning-center/ Members only
https://community.readingrecovery.org/viewdocument/listening-library?CommunityKey=77c9d978-5cc7-43d9-b2b3-6c7130aeaee1&tab=librarydocuments
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/research-article-database/
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/effective-literacy-practices-video-library/
https://readingrecovery.org/resources/professional-learning-toolkits/

Engage in professional conversations with the wider literacy community.
https://literacyconference.org/
https://community.readingrecovery.org/home

Support your organization. The Reading Recovery Council of North America is only as strong as the community we support. Be a member!
https://readingrecovery.org/join/

I hope you join me in seizing this opportunity!

Wishing you a wonderful year ahead. Make it the best one yet!

Deb Rich, Ed.D.

Trainer, Saint Mary’s College of California

President, Reading Recovery Council of North America

---

Debra Rich is a Reading Recovery Trainer, Comprehensive Literacy Model Trainer, Comprehensive Intervention Model Trainer, and Assistant Director of the Comprehensive Literacy Center at Saint Mary’s College of California. She currently serves as the President of the Reading Recovery Council of North America, is a member of the Reading Recovery Executive Council, and is on the leadership committee for LitCon. Deb is a member of the Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies (IAAEA) Executive Board of Directors and is President of the Central Rivers (Iowa) Area Education Agency Board of Directors which provides educational services to 53 public and 18 non-public school districts in north-central Iowa. Deb has served as a building principal and held central office roles in multiple districts as a K-6 language arts coordinator and a K-12 curriculum director. She has been a regional K-12 literacy consultant, Reading Recovery, and classroom teacher. Deb is committed to equity and inclusion and actively advocates for access to literacy as a fundamental right for all children.

---