Season 9, Episode 3

S9 E3: Know the non-negotiables in a program aligned to the Science of Reading, with Kari Kurto

On this episode, Kari Kurto, National Science of Reading Project Director at The Reading League, discusses The Reading League’s curriculum evaluation tool, which assesses a curriculum’s research-based practices. Kurto’s conversation with Susan Lambert touches on her background teaching 鶹with dyslexia, the non-negotiables in curriculum aligned to the Science of Reading, and how educators can use information about an evaluated curriculum to inform instruction. While Kurto stresses that no program is perfect, she and her colleagues have worked to equip educators with a tool to more easily and objectively access information when making curriculum choices.

Meet our guest(s):

Kari Kurto

Kari Kurto is the National Science of Reading Project Director at The Reading League. She directs all work related to The Reading League Compass, the Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines, and the Curriculum Navigation Reports. She also leads work to support multilingual and English learners and runs several communities of practice. Kari is a Path Forward advisory group member and has presented to schools, districts, professional organizations, and state education departments. She formerly worked as a literacy specialist at the Rhode Island Department of Education, leading statewide efforts to implement the Rhode Island Right to Read Act. Kari is an Orton Gillingham practitioner who worked at Middlebridge School in Narragansett, RI and Rawson Saunders School in Austin, TX. Before her career in education, Kari worked as a casting director in Los Angeles. She and her three wonderful children live in southern Rhode Island.

Meet our host, Susan Lambert

Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.

As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.

Transcripts and additional resources

Show notes:

Quotes

“[On dyslexia instruction] It's instruction that we know that all 鶹should have, because that's the instruction that is most aligned to the scientific evidence. But it's instruction that they need with multiple practice opportunities and multiple repetitions.” —Kari Kurto
“Just because we have this report and we say, ‘All right, this curriculum has all the stuff,’ if you don't teach it, then you're a red flag of your own.” —Kari Kurto
“Thank you to those folks who have been listening. Thank you to the folks who are curious about learning more, those who have spent years implementing and tweaking and improving literacy outcomes for our country's next generation. I mean, that's huge.” —Kari Kurto
“It's a movement of improvement, right? We're constantly striving to improve. And don't give up. Share your stories; share your success stories.” —Kari Kurto