Recently, Really Great Reading hosted an insightful edWeb titled Strategic Literacy Innovation: Transforming Literacy Outcomes with Supplemental Support, moderated by Dr. Donna Wright. The session featured an expert panel, including:

• Dr. Judith J. White, Chief Academic Officer, Prince George’s County Public Schools
• Dr. Anna Stubblefield, Superintendent, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools
• Kelly Johnson, Superintendent, Clinton City Schools
• Cari Stanley, Instruction Program Specialist, Etiwanda School District

If you missed the live event, you can watch the recording on-demand to gain real experience and perspectives from education leaders.  

Many core curricula strongly emphasize comprehension and writing but lack sufficient focus on foundational literacy skills. Supplemental solutions help bridge this gap by reinforcing these crucial skills and helping students build a solid literacy foundation. As Kelly Johnson stated that while they were looking at the data, they noticed that the core curriculum their district was using, “did not place an emphasis on foundational reading skills, and that left us having to look for supplemental materials that were going to help us close that gap that our current programming had left behind.”  

The right supplemental solution ensures all students receive the instruction they need to become confident, capable readers.

Educators and district administrators find that students across multiple grade levels still need focused foundational instruction. Supplemental programs offer structured, research-based interventions that effectively support Tier I, II, and III students. Kelly Johnson said her district saw “a heavy emphasis on comprehension, a lot of the writing pieces but very much lacking in … the foundational literacy instruction. We felt that strain which is why we went searching for additional supplemental materials.”  

When gaps in literacy instruction persist, educators must seek solutions that directly address those vital missing pieces. Supplemental programs help fill those voids, giving students the extra instruction they need to succeed. 

Really Great Reading’s structured supplemental programs have led to significant gains in schools. Our programs follow a structured literacy format, providing systematic, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding—key components for building strong reading skills. Cari Stanley noted that her district previously tried to piece supplemental materials into their current curriculum but didn’t find that approach successful. When Etiwanda School district adopted Really Great Reading products, they established a dedicated block of time aligned with the program's specific scope and sequence to effectively integrate the new supplemental materials. This is Etiwanda School District’s first year of implementation, and some school sites have reached 80-90% grade-level proficiency in their mid-year assessments.

A well-structured supplemental program supports educators in delivering targeted instruction while allowing flexibility to meet student needs.

Relying solely on state-approved curricula can leave gaps in literacy instruction often revealed too late. Supplementing with targeted resources helps bridge these gaps, providing students with the necessary instruction. Kelly Johnson stated, “It gave the false assumption that if the state had vetted it (core literacy programs), it was meeting the needs of kids. We bought into that, and it took a while for us to scratch our heads and say, ‘The data is not showing that this is getting the job done.” Trusting only state-approved curricula can leave educators at all levels scrambling to address deficiencies . Venturing beyond these programs to proven evidence-based supplemental resources creates a more well-rounded literacy strategy. 

Teachers often face challenges in implementing explicit instruction effectively. Really Great Reading’s supplemental programs offer a wide range of professional development options, including on-demand videos, live virtual training, and onsite support. We collaborate with educators to assess their needs and customize support through lesson modeling, training, and ongoing guidance, ensuring they have the tools to refine their teaching practices. Dr. Judith White explained how this benefitted Prince George’s County Public Schools, “As we were rolling out the Science of Reading, we noticed that our teachers struggled with explicit instruction, so we had to find a supplemental resource.” They decided to use Really Great Reading products as their supplemental resource.

Structured literacy provides a research-based framework for explicit, systematic, and engaging literacy instruction. Rooted in the Science of Reading, it equips educators with evidence-based principles, including direct teacher-led instruction, cumulative skill-building, and diagnostic assessment. Key components such as phonemic awareness, phonics, morphology, syntax, and semantics ensure students develop strong decoding, comprehension, and writing skills. By leveraging Really Great Reading’s structured literacy strategies, teachers can bridge instructional gaps and improve student outcomes.

Unlike fragmented core literacy programs, supplemental solutions follow a clear, systematic scope and sequence, leading to better student outcomes. Schools that dedicate a separate instructional block to these programs see measurable gains. Cari Stanley shared her district’s previous experience with supplemental materials, reporting, “If you are getting supplemental material, don’t break it up and try to attach it to your core program… because we saw a significant decline in stagnation in student scores after third grade to where our students were no longer able to apply the alphabetic principle into multisyllabic words or into higher level text pieces.”

The Science of Reading emphasizes a systematic, cumulative approach to literacy instruction. Research shows that students learn best when concepts are introduced in a structured, logical order, reinforcing prior skills while increasing complexity. A well-defined instructional path ensures students master key literacy skills, eliminates learning gaps, and builds confident, fluent readers.

At Really Great Reading we provide continuous learning opportunities for educators, including Science of Reading Workshops, on demand webinars, eLearning courses, and in person events. video tutorials, learning walks, and personalized coaching, helping teachers feel confident in their instruction. Dr. Judith White (2025) noted, “Really Great Reading provided professional development. If you were using that curriculum you had videos that you could go back and watch over and over again, not just a sit and get once but you can keep receiving that information.”  

Ongoing professional development helps educators refine their techniques, reinforce best practices, and implement structured literacy effectively. With flexible, on-demand resources, teachers can revisit key concepts anytime to strengthen their instruction.

Without strong foundational skills, students struggle to apply the alphabetic principle to multisyllabic words and complex texts in later grades. Supplemental instruction helps prevent stagnation and supports literacy growth in students throughout their academic career. Our panelists agreed that dedicating structured time to supplemental instruction ensures that students receive the targeted, systematic teaching they need to develop strong reading skills. By reinforcing essential literacy concepts before core instruction, schools can help students build confidence and fluency, setting them up for long-term reading success.

As more districts transition to Science of Reading-based practices, supplemental solutions provide structured, explicit instruction that aligns with this research. Schools implementing these programs report significant student growth. Dr. Judith White (2025) shared that, “When you look at the combination of strong, explicit supplemental support along with professional development and on-the-ground support and bringing parents in, it allowed us to see our DIBLES, our DIBLES data went up.”

By integrating evidence-based literacy practices, schools can bridge the gap between research and classroom instruction, ensuring students develop strong foundational reading skills. Aligning instructional strategies with the Science of Reading empowers educators to make informed decisions, leading to measurable improvements in student outcomes.

Core curricula often burden educators with creating or adapting their own foundational literacy materials. Supplemental programs provide ready-to-use, research-backed resources that save time while delivering effective instruction. Dr. Anna Stubblefield (2025) mentioned, “There have been supplemental resources that we didn’t see that we didn’t like, but I would wholeheartedly see that it was the resource. Sometimes, it was not implemented with fidelity or time constraints.” High-quality supplemental programs lighten the load for educators and ensure consistent, research-based instruction that benefits students. When implemented with fidelity, these resources help streamline lesson planning, allowing teachers to focus on student engagement and differentiated instruction. Educators can maximize their instructional impact by reducing time spent on material creation while improving student literacy outcomes.