On the Road to Literacy Success

Get ready for a special treat! Dr. Inciarte is in the phonemic awareness house. Enjoy! -staci

Season 3 of On the Road to Literacy Success is HERE—and we are kicking it off with an international K–12 conversation about teaching, learning, literacy, and leadership.

Host Dr. Staci Bain is joined by returning guest Dr. Nathaniel Swain and secondary education leader and PhD candidate Rebecca Birch from Australia for a practical conversation that moves from the early grades all the way through secondary school.

Dr. Swain has officially become part of our season-opening tradition. He joined us for Episode 1 of Season 1, returned to open Season 2, and is back again for Season 3—this time bringing Rebecca Birch into the conversation. Together, Nathaniel and Rebecca also host Chalk Dust, where they examine real classroom instruction, celebrate great teaching, and translate research into concrete instructional moves educators can use.

In this episode, we get into some BIG topics:

💎 Strong whole-group instruction and why teacher-led learning does not mean passive learning

💎 Why interactive, explicit, well-structured instruction can allow teachers to respond to many learners at the same time

💎 The role of small-group instruction—and why it does not need to dominate the instructional block

💎 How classroom structure, explicit teaching, engagement, and behavior may be more connected than we sometimes recognize

💎 Teacher cognitive load and what happens when educators are expected to implement too many new practices at once

💎 Why early-career teachers may benefit from clear instructional structures before being expected to make expert-level decisions in the moment

💎 What strong Tier 1 literacy instruction can look like in middle and secondary schools

💎 The importance of giving older students access to complex text, academic vocabulary, reading, writing, syntax, and disciplinary literacy

💎 Why sentence-level writing and syntactic knowledge deserve far more attention across K–12 classrooms

💎 The importance of high expectations paired with high levels of support

💎 What school and district leaders need to understand about implementation, professional learning, instructional leadership, and creating the conditions for teachers to succeed

One of the strongest messages running through this conversation is simple: great teaching is extraordinarily sophisticated work. Whole-group instruction is not a teacher talking while students sit passively. At its best, it is interactive, diagnostic, explicit, responsive, and deeply dependent upon the instructional expertise of the teacher. And meaningful school improvement requires more than introducing another initiative.

Leaders have to consider teacher knowledge, cognitive load, implementation, time, resources, and whether educators have had enough opportunity to develop proficiency before something new is added. This conversation is for teachers, principals, instructional coaches, district leaders, superintendents, literacy leaders, and anyone working to create stronger K–12 Tier 1 systems. 🎙️

ABOUT THE GUESTS Dr. Nathaniel Swain is an author, speaker, researcher, and classroom expert whose work focuses on evidence-informed instruction, explicit teaching, student engagement, literacy, and school improvement. He is the author of Harnessing the Science of Learning and co-host of the Chalk Dust podcast.

🌎 Learn more: NathanielSwain.com Rebecca Birch is an English teacher, secondary education leader, PhD candidate, writer, and co-host of Chalk Dust. Her work brings an important secondary lens to conversations about reading, writing, complex text, academic language, explicit instruction, school improvement, and implementation.

🎙️ ABOUT YOUR HOST Dr. Staci Bain is the host of On the Road to Literacy Success and co-founder of Educate America® LLC. A former teacher, principal, executive director, and national literacy facilitator, Staci works with K–12 educators and leaders across the country to strengthen Tier 1 instruction and create systems that empower teachers to teach and students to learn.

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Welcome to Season 3. Let’s get On the Road. 💛

In this episode of On the Road to Literacy Success, Dr. Staci Bain sits down with educators from McLaurin Elementary School in Mississippi for a powerful conversation about what it takes to transform literacy outcomes from the inside out. Together, they share the story of how McLaurin’s staff embraced the Science of Reading, strengthened Tier 1 instruction, and worked collectively to move student data in meaningful ways.

This episode highlights the real work behind literacy success: strategic planning, teacher learning, coaching, collaboration, trust, and a shared belief that reading failure can and should be prevented. The conversation also explores the human side of school improvement. The McLaurin team reflects on the courage it takes to learn something new, the importance of supporting teachers as they shift practice, and the role of leadership in creating the conditions for sustainable change. From building buy-in to reducing cognitive load for teachers, their story offers practical insight for schools and districts working to improve literacy instruction.

This episode is a reminder that statewide success is built by the people closest to students: teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders who are willing to learn, lead, and stay committed to the process. If you care about literacy, school transformation, and the collective effort it takes to change student outcomes, this conversation is for you.

In this episode of On the Road to Literacy Success, Dr. Staci Bain sits down with Leta Palmiter, CEO of Illuminations Literacy Solutions, creator of Vertical Take-Off Reading, founder and board member of the Illuminations Center for Dyslexia in Meridian, Mississippi, and author of Mississippi Rising: How the Last Became First in Literacy Growth.

Together, they discuss Mississippi’s remarkable literacy journey, the urgency of dyslexia advocacy, and what becomes possible when educators, leaders, families, legislators, and practitioners work together with clarity and purpose.

Leta shares how structured literacy, teacher training, practitioner certification, and innovative tools like VTO Reading are helping transform literacy outcomes for students. This conversation is filled with hope, practical insight, and a powerful reminder that literacy progress does not happen by accident. It happens when people refuse to accept low outcomes, build systems that support teachers, and keep students at the center of the work. From dyslexia advocacy to education technology, Mississippi’s literacy progress offers important lessons for schools, districts, and states across the nation.

As you believe, literacy is a human right, and every child deserves access to instruction that helps them read, write, and thrive. R

esources mentioned in this episode:

📚 Mississippi Rising by Leta Palmiter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7F4XK7X

🌐 Illuminations Literacy Solutions https://illuminationsliteracy.com/

🌐 Vertical Take-Off Reading https://vtoreading.com

🎟️ Breaking Barriers: Expanding Literacy for All Learners Conference Meridian, Mississippi

October 1–2, 2026 https://breakingbarriersliteracy.com

📚 Promo Code: readingisahumanright

This code provides free shipping on Mississippi Rising or any product available through the Illuminations Literacy Solutions website.

I am also honored to be a featured speaker at the Illuminations conference in Meridian, Mississippi, October 1–2, 2026. I hope to see you there.

In this episode, we connect with Enid Ballot, a deeply committed and knowledgeable literacy expert who has helped shape and expand the national and international Science of Literacy conversation.

Through her leadership in multiple educator communities on social media, Enid continues to push the field beyond narrow conversations about reading alone and toward a fuller understanding of literacy instruction. Together, we discuss vocabulary development, syntax and grammar, handwriting, writing, and the instructional decisions that help students become stronger readers, writers, and thinkers.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that literacy success is not built through isolated skills or one narrow slice of instruction. It is built through clear, connected, evidence-aligned teaching that honors the complexity of language and the expertise of educators.