In January and February, we reached out to district and charter system leaders to ask how they’re approaching literacy this year.
Our survey landed in inboxes weeks before the latest NAEP results made headlines, yet every single leader—regardless of district size or student demographics—identified literacy as a top priority.
(If you missed Part One, where we shared leaders’ perspectives on why literacy matters and what’s working, you can catch up here.)
But while literacy is a universal priority, far fewer leaders felt confident they were on track to meet their goals.
What might be holding them back?
What do they want to learn from their peers?
The Challenges
We asked leaders: What are your biggest challenges in achieving your literacy goals? Their responses reflected both the ongoing struggles in education and the complexity of turning research into action.
- Recruiting, Retaining, and Developing Educators
Nearly half of all leaders pointed to teacher retention and talent development as their top challenge. Many described a cycle of constantly training new teachers, making it difficult to sustain multi-year instructional shifts or build deep expertise in evidence-based reading practices.“Teacher retention and quality—we are regularly having to train new staff, and many have little experience teaching reading or the science of reading.”
“Teacher turnover makes it difficult to sustain professional learning. We’re always onboarding new teachers.”
This turnover means that even with strong instructional materials, teachers may lack the knowledge and confidence to implement them effectively.
- Limited Resources: Time and Money
One-third of respondents named time and funding constraints as major barriers to their literacy goals.“We have very few resources to meet ambitious goals.”
“The robust interventions we’d like to scale cost $$, and we have to prioritize.”
Beyond funding, leaders also struggle with time—time for teachers to collaborate, for instructional leaders to coach, and for schools to implement new literacy initiatives effectively.
- Making the Curriculum Work in Practice
Many leaders expressed that selecting a high-quality curriculum is just the first step—and that successful implementation requires more support than they currently have.“We need to better ensure fidelity to our curriculum and that teachers understand and can use essential, effective literacy teaching methods.”
“We have the HQIMS, now we need the professional learning that’s aligned to them.”
In other words, curriculum adoption alone doesn’t guarantee change—without ongoing, job-embedded professional learning, even the best materials won’t have their intended impact.
- Expanding Beyond Early Literacy
Several leaders also mentioned the need to develop more robust and differentiated supports, particularly for older students and Multilingual Learners (MLLs).“We need better ways to support our older students who still have gaps in foundational reading skills.”
“There is a major gap in resources and guidance for supporting MLLs with evidence-based literacy instruction.”
The Questions Leaders Want to Ask Each Other
One of the most revealing parts of our survey was when we asked: “If you could ask another literacy leader one question, what would it be?” Their responses reflected a deep hunger for practical, real-world strategies—not just on what works, but how to make it work in the context of their own schools and districts.
Leaders asked about data systems and master schedules. Tier 2 interventions and curriculum implementation. But the biggest share of questions focused on change and investment.
How do you build enthusiasm for literacy initiatives?
How do you invest teachers in the urgency needed to close large gaps in student achievement?
How did you get everyone on board to teach and support literacy?
How do you ensure your staff understands the science of reading?
What strategies have you found most effective in engaging parents and the community in supporting literacy at home?
How do you ensure all families feel confident in supporting their children on their literacy journey?
These questions reflect what we’ve always known. It’s not just choosing the right materials or strategies but creating and sustaining system-wide change.
What Happens When a System Gets It Right?
We know these challenges are real. But we also know that system-wide change and impact is possible.
Take, for example, the team at Adelante Schools, who transformed their approach by focusing on literacy at the system level. With ongoing knowledge building, strong systems for coaching and professional learning, and data analysis at every layer of the system, they’ve created an aligned reading ecosystem for kids that’s leading to real outcomes. (More third graders passed the statewide reading assessment this year than any previous year.)
📖 Read more here.
If you’re a literacy leader, we’d love to hear from you: What question would you ask a peer? Weigh in on our LinkedIn page!