'Science of Reading' Webinars Free for K-8 Teachers

An education software company is offering free professional development webinars to K-8 reading teachers across the U.S.

The first of an eight-part series by Curriculum Associates, “Science of Reading — Putting Research into Action, Season 2,” will go live at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 13. The series continues at the same time every Wednesday (excluding Sept. 27) through Nov. 15, with literacy experts presenting one-hour online lessons on topics such as knowledge-building, reading strategies and comprehension, according to a news release.

“The upcoming webinar series, which builds upon the first installment of our Science of Reading webinars, brings together an esteemed group of experts to cover a myriad of important and timely topics, including cultivating reading skills for older, striving readers, knowledge building, comprehension and executive skills," Elizabeth Bassford, vice president of content and implementation at Curriculum Associates, said in a public statement.

According to the program web page, those who register for the program will also receive recordings of the webinars after they air.

Although Curriculum Associates did not cite recent trends in reading or English language arts test scores or other performance metrics, this announcement comes at a time when schools across the nation are still dealing with lost learning time and student progress following the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit research and assessment group Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) recently announced that, based on its data analysis, most students in grades 3-8 would need an additional 4.1 months of reading instruction beyond this academic year to be fully caught up on learning lost during the pandemic.

“Pandemic disruptions have been persistent and unprecedented, and, not surprisingly, so have their impacts on student achievement. School and district leaders have been doing a heroic job in identifying local needs and deploying evidence-based strategies to address them. But scaling interventions takes significant time and resources, and we know the hard work of educators often takes years to show up in test results,” Lindsay Dworkin, NWEA senior vice president of policy and government affairs, said July 10 in a public statement. “One year from the expiration of the federal education relief funds, which have supported so much of their vital efforts thus far, policymakers and leaders throughout the education ecosystem must renew their commitment to recovery. Our students deserve the sustained resources and urgency necessary to ensure they have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”