Esther Quintero

The Mindsets We Bring to Understanding Reading Laws Our priors affect how we understand literacy mandates and that is ok. We can still find common ground.

www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/mindset...

New blog by @equintero.bsky.social: We all bring priors to debates re literacy. Over time, these can harden into fixed positions. By unpacking where each side is coming from, we can soften divides, open space for dialogue, & set a few shared non-negotiables.

Why Are So Few Kids Reading for Pleasure? Doomscrolling. Poor literacy instruction. Overscheduling. These are some of the reasons cited for a generational decline in students reading for fun.

Hands down the BEST piece I have come across with on the topic of deep reading and attention in our digital culture. SUPERB. Must read and RE-READ. Thank you for this public service piece @gtoppo.bsky.social

Why Are So Few Kids Reading for Pleasure? www.the74million.org/article/why-...

If we want reading success, we need to invest Maryland is about to see how well we are addressing the reading crisis that has plagued our state since 2013 when NAEP test scores began a decadelong decline.

www.stardem.com/opinion/colu...

Important points, not just for Maryland but nation wide. Legislation is never enough and if funding is missing or insufficient all the more so.

A simple, powerful message about reading instruction. Tim Shanahan’s new book, Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives, may be the reading book of the year.

open.substack.com/pub/dtwuva/p...

Classroom phone bans reduced academic inequality: lower-performing students gained most, whilst high achievers showed minimal change.

“Well-Organised Misunderstanding": The Fine Art of Being Wrong What Michelene Chi Taught Me About Misconceptions

This is a must read. Explains how teachers can understand their students' mental models -- how are they organizing knowledge -- and why this matters. Another brilliant piece by Carl Hendrick.

“Well-Organised Misunderstanding": The Fine Art of Being Wrong open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

Purdue student detained by ICE and taken to troubled Louisiana holding facility Yeonsoo Go, 20, was detained after her immigration hearing in Manhattan and taken away by ICE agents.

Go, a college student, has a dependent visa (her mother, an Episcopal minister, is here on a religious worker visa), which doesn't expire until Dec. But when she tried to renew it early, ICE nabbed her and sent her halfway across the US to a detention center.
www.wthr.com/article/news...

Newsom directs agencies to tackle loneliness crisis among boys and young men The governor's executive order addresses rising rates of suicide, unemployment and gaps in educational achievement.

Given the gender disparities in literacy (reading habits, reading test scores) with boys trailing girls in every measure and in most high-income countries, one might wonder what role literacy play in boys' educational underachievement, social behavior, & mental health. edsource.org?page_id=737866

Such a great episode!

Esther Quintero (@estherquintero1) I will be coming back to this essay over and over. So much to think about here and so beautifully put.

substack.com/@estherquint...

Will Switch to Phonics Finally Help California Students Read Better? Marion Joseph died in 2022 and cannot celebrate what is finally happening in California to improve children’s abysmal reading levels. A renowned reading expert, she waged a crusade for using phonics.

We continue to see inaccuracies in reporting related to SOR legislation. AB 1454 not just phonics. From bill: "print concepts, phonological aware., phonics & word recognition, & fluency, (...) oral language development, vocabulary & background knowledge, & comprehension"

gvwire.com/2025/07/20/c...

Celebrating 20 Years of AFT Collaboration with PBS Public Television Station WETA on Colorín Colorado! Colorín Colorado, an online resource hub, to provide educators of English language learners (ELLs) with evidence-based resources, best practices, and information.

Proud of my AFT colleagues who have been lifting evidence based literacy for decades, and, importantly, making this wealth of academic knowledge accessible to educators and families

This tremendous resource focuses on multilingual learners.

www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/celebra...

Science of Reading Laws: Let’s Begin with the Facts Thoughtful critique of reading laws needs to be rigorous and fair.

Thoughtful critique of reading legislation is essential—but it begins with an honest reading of the laws themselves, say Esther Quintero, Kayla Reist, and Susan B. Neuman. www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/science...

Beyond Scripts: Why Structured Adaptations Are Key to Scaling Literacy Programs We should build systems that honor both evidence and educators.

New: @susanbneuman.bsky.social argues that structured adaptation might be the missing link in making good literacy programs great at scale. www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/beyond-...

Beyond Scripts: Why Structured Adaptations Are Key to Scaling Literacy Programs We should build systems that honor both evidence and educators.

Must read by @susanbneuman.bsky.social on why teachers matter so much in curriculum implementation @shankerinst.bsky.social @katasolow.bsky.social @callielowenstein.bsky.social www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/beyond-...

Bad news Monday for K12 ed

Legislation would require textbooks and teacher training grounded in phonics and other research-based strategies.

Read more: bit.ly/4jCos6R

NEW RESOURCE The Reading League Compass By Bilinguistics and The Reading League Contrastive Analysis Resources Image of various phonological consonant sounds

📢 We're thrilled to share a new TRL Compass resource to support English learners (ELs)!

Our Contrastive Analysis Resource has IPA-based charts & Venn diagrams comparing English phonology with six languages.

Support your EL students with this resource today: www.thereadingleague.org/compass/engl...

An important post by an EL advocate Why do educators feel like they need to choose a “side”?

An important post by an advocate of English Learners open.substack.com/pub/claudego...

Unveiling Racism: A Systematic Review of Survey Measures of Racism in Education Education policy research aimed at eliminating racism necessitates methodological innovation that fosters both equity-centered approaches and robust empirical analysis of the systemic nature of racism...

New paper alert! bc amid all the chaos this work is even more important. Here is a review that includes a list 50 existing surveys for measuring racism in schools! ✊🏽

edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1168

Important letter to Congress re education department and education research:

"Congress must act to protect the nation’s education data, research infrastructure, and knowledge base, by safeguarding the IES and broader USED staff, leadership, and mission." 👇

Trump's war on science A multi-directional assault on the foundations of American research

Multiple strands of conservative politics — from culture war to fiscal panic to RFK’s know-nothingism to tech millenarianism — are colliding to dismantle American scientific research.

www.slowboring.com/p/trumps-war...

Nice to see all the education research orgs put out a joint statement calling for Congress to safeguard the (Congressionally established) IES and NCES I would have liked to see them underscore the historical dimensions a bit more (surprise!) 1/ www.aera.net/Portals/38/E...

Want to help defend Ed research? Join us in a week of action! #EduSky #EduSkyPrimary #ScienceOfReading #StandUpForReadingResearch

What is Next For the Science of Reading? What is next for the science of reading

The Science of Reading may be entering a new phase—one of thoughtful recalibration. Structured instruction still matters, but so does space for implicit learning. Moving forward will take deeper collaboration between researchers & educators. www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/what-ne...

Schools Are Banning Phones. What About Laptops? Computers in class might actually hurt students.

Sylvie McNamara grew so concerned about the effect that her son’s school-issued laptop was having on his learning, & weak response from his school, that she began keeping the laptop at home. His grades improved.

Now she pens a 👀 piece on issues with Ed Tech:
www.washingtonian.com/2025/03/25/s...

It's just one slice of the mess were in - but if the edu and SoR communities don't stand for IES, who will?

We are planning a Week of ACTION the week of 4/7 to #StandUpForReadingResearch

Planning call this Mon 3/24 (!) - please join to help plan in your area! us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Scholar Douglas Harris Debuts New ‘Wikipedia’ of K–12 Research As cuts threaten insights into K–12 schools, the veteran researcher is helping to build a compendium of education insights.

IES was instrumental in generating research on the science of reading. What is happening now is that "they’re basically undercutting the next science of reading" says scholar Douglas Harris in this interview debuting new ‘Wikipedia’ of K–12 Research www.the74million.org/article/scho...

The IES Practice Guides and resources inform every single literacy course & training for pre-service & in-service teachers. Any literacy intervention that has evidence behind it has evidence because the studies were funded by IES, OSEP, or by NIH. Every $ spent on IES research saves tax payer $.

Calling all edu researchers: please join us & please spread the word. Time to fight for this work & funding & for all the students/lives it impacts!

cc @matthewkraft.bsky.social @mpolikoff.bsky.social @chrismartell.bsky.social @dynarski.bsky.social @sarahpowellphd.bsky.social @natejones.bsky.social