As I support campuses that are struggling academically, the need for a principal's instructional leadership role is increasingly evident in all aspects of a school improvement. For example, simply ordering intervention materials to supplement a core curriculum is not enough. Rather, spending time reviewing specific uses for supplement al materials such as test practice, scaffolding resources and spiraled reviews is necessary to streamline the effectiveness of interventions. T

Lately I've noticed a trend, a call to stop encouraging students to self-select books on their independent reading levels. The blog posts, tweets and instagram outcries for student freedom of choice are gaining populatiry like a pop star's baby photos. Although, student freedom of choice is a foundational principle of literacy instruction, abandoining leveled readers is not the answer. If one allows students to self-select a text far more difficult than their reading level, y