Leading Literacy: Carrying the Work Forward, One Teacher at a Time

Doc Holbrook at her longtime friend and mentor Dr. Kathleen Lord, with Rose Else-Mitchell.

Last week, I had the privilege of spending several days in Chicago at The Reading League National Conference—and I’m still processing it all.

There’s something powerful about being surrounded by people who care about the same things you do—people who want to make reading accessible for every child, who believe in evidence, who are willing to do the hard work to make change happen.

The Reading League was built on a simple idea: it takes a league. That phrase stuck with me. Because it’s true—none of us can do this work alone. Sustaining literacy change takes time, consistency, and a community of people who believe that getting reading right is one of the most important things we can do for kids.

And as I listened to session after session in Chicago—on coaching, systems change, assessment, and leadership—I kept thinking about how lucky I am to have my own “league” back home.

Building a League of Literacy Leaders in Kingston

In Kingston, we’ve been working hard to build something that lasts. Over the past few years, our district has made incredible strides toward aligning instruction with the science of reading. We’ve trained hundreds of teachers, adopted high-quality materials, and created clearer systems for intervention and progress monitoring.

But as any leader knows, implementation is just the beginning. Sustaining change requires something deeper: building teacher capacity and leadership at every level.

That’s why I created the Leading Literacy Academy—a 10-hour professional learning series designed to grow literacy leaders right here in our district.

It’s built around three main goals:

1. Deepening Knowledge – Understanding the pillars of effective reading instruction and how they connect—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and oral language.

2. Data and Planning – Learning how to analyze data and make instructional decisions within each pillar.

3. Leading Others – Developing the skills to facilitate professional learning and run PLCs that actually move practice,

But here’s the part I love most—it’s not lecture-style. It’s conversation. It’s teachers virtually sitting around a table, pulling apart real student data, looking at authentic writing samples, and helping each other problem-solve.

The first cohort launched this month. Within two hours of posting it, all the seats were filled. I doubled the number—from 15 to 30—and it filled again by the next morning.

That tells me everything I need to know. The desire is there. The need is there. Teachers want to lead this work. They want to understand it deeply, share it confidently, and keep it alive.

And that’s exactly what sustainability looks like. As Michael Fullan says, the true test of leadership is what continues after you’re gone. Building capacity ensures the work doesn’t depend on one person—it becomes part of the system itself.

Why I Do This Work

People sometimes ask me how I keep going—why I work late, spend weekends writing plans, or pour so much of myself into this. The truth is, I do it because I love it. Because it matters. Because I know that when we get reading right, we change lives.

And because someone once poured into me the same way I try to pour into others.

The Person Who Poured Into Me

Over ten years ago, I decided to go back to school for my second master’s in literacy. I was frustrated with what I saw happening in classrooms—so many kids struggling to read, and so little real understanding of how to help them. I wanted to be part of the change.

I had my eye on another program, but after one phone call with Dr. Kathleen Lord, everything changed. Kathleen was a professor of literacy at SUNY New Paltz, and from that conversation forward, she became my teacher, mentor, and friend.

She believed in me before I believed in myself. She taught me not just about literacy—but about leadership, compassion, and the responsibility we have to others once we know better. When I began adjuncting, Kathleen met with me every Saturday morning to go over the next week’s lesson plans. She wanted to make sure I understood the material inside and out, so I could teach it well.

Kathleen passed away suddenly last week, and I can hardly find the words. I’m heartbroken for her family and for all of us who loved her—but I’m also heartbroken for the field. Kathleen still had so much to give. In fact, I spoke with her the morning she passed, and she was still sharing ideas and talking about the next phase of the work.

I owe so much of who I am professionally to her. The micro-credential, the doctoral journey, the system-wide literacy work—all of it traces back to her belief in me.

So I’ll keep going. I’ll carry her lessons forward. I’ll do my best to walk in her footsteps—to keep building others up the way she did. Because ultimately, that’s what this is all about.

Giving Back

Sustaining literacy change isn’t just about programs or initiatives—it’s about people. It’s about creating more teachers who can teach kids how to read, and more leaders who can guide others to do the same.

That’s the legacy Kathleen left for me. And that’s the legacy I hope to leave for the teachers I work with.

Because when we pour into others, the work continues long after we’re gone. That’s how we build a league. That’s how we lead literacy. That' s how we change lives.

When we know better, we teach better.

See you next Sunday!

References

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work (2nd ed.). Solution Tree Press.

ExcelinEd. (2023). The Science of Reading: A resource guide for state leaders. ExcelinEd. https://excelined.org

Fullan, M. (2011). Change leader: Learning to do what matters most. Jossey-Bass.

Fullan, M. (2019). Nuance: Why some leaders succeed and others fail. Corwin Press.

Moats, L. C. (2020). Teaching reading is rocket science: What expert teachers of reading should know and be able to do (2nd ed.). The Reading League & IDA.

The Reading League. (n.d.). Our mission and impact. Retrieved October 2025, from https://www.thereadingleague.org

Snow, C. E., & Juel, C. (2005). Teaching children to read: What do we know about how to do it? In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 501–520). Blackwell Publishing.

Willingham, D. T. (2017). The reading mind: A cognitive approach to understanding how the mind reads. Jossey-Bass.