Why I Keep Saying Yes to the Hard Work

SUNY Candidates work alongside KCSD teachers to plan lessons for the second Literacy Academy.

This month, we launched our second Literacy Academy in collaboration with SUNY New Paltz. And every time we do this work, I’m reminded why partnerships like this matter so much—and why they’re also exhausting in the very best way.

SUNY New Paltz literacy graduate candidates come to Kingston and work alongside KCSD teachers to provide small-group reading instruction to our students. On paper, it’s a win-win. In practice, it’s even better.

KCSD teachers have the opportunity to mentor and support preservice teachers while learning alongside them. SUNY candidates work shoulder to shoulder with experienced educators, seeing what evidence-based reading instruction actually looks like in real classrooms with real kids. And our students? They receive additional, targeted reading instruction from adults who are deeply invested in their growth.

This is what building capacity looks like.

How the Literacy Academy Is Structured

The clinic runs for approximately 75–90 minutes. While our summer work focused on foundational decoding using Phonics for Reading, this academy is designed specifically for third- and fourth-grade students—many of whom can decode but still struggle to fully access grade-level text.

For this cycle, we’re using Scholastic Knowledge Decodables as a shared anchor. The materials provide a starting point, but they are not the instruction.

Teachers are expected to enhance lessons to include:

• Explicit phonics or word study instruction aligned to student need

• Repeated reading routines to support fluency

• Close reading of text to deepen comprehension

• Structured writing connected directly to reading

• Extended vocabulary instruction using tools like semantic gradients and Frayer models

For students who are still struggling with more foundational phonics skills, instruction is provided using UFLI. The goal is precision—meeting students where they are without lowering expectations or disconnecting intervention from grade-level work.

This is not remediation in isolation. It’s intentional instruction.

Connecting Coursework to Classroom Practice

One of the most powerful aspects of this Literacy Academy is how intentionally it aligns with the candidates’ learning at SUNY New Paltz.

In addition, all the KCSD literacy candidates have completed the Science of Reading micro-credential from SUNY New Paltz, giving them a shared foundation in evidence-based reading instruction before they ever step into classrooms. They understand the why behind explicit phonics, fluency development, vocabulary instruction, and structured writing. The clinic then becomes an extension of that learning.

Rather than trying out disconnected strategies, candidates apply what they’ve studied—orthographic mapping, decoding routines, language development, and text-based comprehension—in real instructional settings with real students. They do this alongside KCSD teachers who model, coach, and reinforce what high-quality instruction looks like in practice.

This bridge between coursework and classroom matters. Too often, preservice teachers learn about effective instruction in theory and then enter classrooms where those practices aren’t visible. In this model, coherence is intentional. Candidates see the research come to life, and teachers strengthen their own practice through mentorship and collaboration.

Everyone grows—and students benefit most.

Why Do I Do This to Myself?

All of this sounds wonderful, and it is, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t moments of doubt. When I woke up on Thursday morning knowing my day was going to stretch until 8:00 p.m., I briefly reconsidered all of my life choices.

This work is layered. It requires coordination, coaching, problem-solving, and flexibility. It asks teachers to do more in a system where everyone is already stretched thin. It’s long days and constant adjustments.

But then I walk into the room.

I see a SUNY candidate sitting next to a KCSD teacher, leaning in, asking questions, adjusting instruction. I see students getting extra practice they wouldn’t otherwise receive—practice that is explicit, intentional, and responsive. I hear instructional language becoming more precise. I see confidence growing, both in students and in adults.

And I remember exactly why I keep saying yes.

The Power of Mentorship

Mentorship matters—not in theory, but in practice.

Preservice teachers don’t just need coursework. They need models. They need to see what explicit reading instruction looks like. They need space to practice, reflect, and refine with support.

At the same time, experienced teachers benefit too. Mentoring forces us to articulate our thinking, to explain the why behind our instructional decisions, and to stay grounded in research. It creates space for professional dialogue that centers on instruction—not compliance.

This is how we grow our own.

What Our Students Gain

For our Kingston students, the impact is immediate.

They receive additional time with text. Additional opportunities to decode, reread, discuss, and write. Additional feedback. Additional adults who know their strengths and needs.

For students who have struggled with reading for years, this kind of focused instruction can be the difference between staying stuck and finally moving forward. Extra practice matters. Extra instruction matters. And when it’s done well, it changes trajectories.

The Work That Matters Most

One of the things I value most about this academy is that it allows me to work directly with teachers and candidates—not from a leadership distance, but inside the work itself.

This is where systems meet reality. This is where beliefs are challenged, practices are refined, and real change takes hold. Educational change doesn’t happen because of a program or a mandate. It happens because people learn together, practice together, and commit to doing better for kids—even when it’s hard and even when it makes for very long days.

So yes, I’m tired. And yes, my days sometimes stretch far longer than planned.

But this is the work that matters. And I’d say yes to it again.

Want to See What This Looks Like?

If you’re thinking, I want to see what this looks like in practice, I’m sharing a free sample lesson structure that mirrors what we use in the Literacy Academy—from explicit decoding and fluency routines to close reading and structured writing.

👉 Sign up here to access the free sample lesson structure: Sunday Literacy Lesson Plan Template

Because seeing the work matters. And because good instruction should be transparent, replicable, and built to last.

When we know better, we teach better!

See you next Sunday!

References

Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. MIT Press.

Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2013.819356

Moats, L. C. (2020). Teaching reading is rocket science (2020 ed.). American Federation of Teachers.

Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools. Alliance for Excellent Education.

Snow, C. E., Scarborough, H. S., & Burns, M. S. (1999). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. National Academy Press.