Catalyst

S

A Publication From The National Institute For Literacy

panish-Language Publication for Pare

SPRING 2008 ISSUE 1

nts of Young

Readers Among the Institute’s New Titles

2 Director’s Message

Dr. Sandra Baxter 

4 UP Close Interview

Speaking out on literacy and recovery

7 Book Focus

An interview with Dr. Deshler

10 Serving the Institute

Who’s Who and Who’s New on Staff

INSIDE

When the National Institute for 

Literacy expanded its offering 

of print publications for parents 

of preschool and K–3 children in 2006, La 

Lectura es lo Primero (Put Reading First), its 

first-ever Spanish-language book, was among 

them. Today, as the need grows for Spanishlanguage publications and resources for families 

of K–3 children who are learning to speak and 

read in English, the Institute is working to 

create two new book titles to support parents 

and families. La Lectura es lo Primero ranks

No. 1 in Spanish-language publications 

distributed by the U.S. Department of 

Education’s clearinghouse (EdPubs) and is 

among its top 10 most-requested publications. 

“The publications will introduce 

information about how K–3 children learn 

to read in a way that connects to Hispanic 

families’ beliefs about the role of the 

family, community, and school in children’s 

education,” said Lynn Reddy, the Institute’s 

deputy director. “We are working hard to use 

research findings as the basis of meaningful, 

culturally appropriate publications with 

Spanish-speaking families in mind,” said

Reddy of the Institute’s vision for the new 

Spanish-language publications. Reddy, who 

is managing this publishing project, said the 

Institute expects that the publications will be 

developed organically rather than by using 

text that has been translated from existing 

English-language versions of its books. And 

like the Institute’s other publications funded 

under No Child Left Behind, the foundation 

for these new Spanish-language books will rely 

on scientifically based research. The Institute 

awarded a contract to develop the new books 

to Macro International, Inc., a professional 

services firm with experience in developing 

outreach efforts to the Hispanic community

on health issues. 

Macro International tapped Johns Hopkins 

University scholar and researcher Dr. Margarita 

Calderón to be a part of the project’s expert 

working group. 

“I wanted to be a part of the Institute’s 

working group because this is the first time 

that two such visible publications will be 

developed from a Hispanic/Latino perspective 

and from scratch,” Calderón explained. “The 

involvement of families, educators, and policy 

makers in focus groups will ensure cultural and 

educational relevance in these publications.” 

Calderón has taught ESL and bilingual 

classes in elementary, middle, and high 

schools, and has published more than 100 

books, journal articles, and manuals. She is a 

principal research scientist and professor for 

The Institute is developing two new titles to support 

Hispanic families with children in grades K-3.

Continued on page 3

NEWS IN BRIEF

Baxter Joins First-Ever

Congressional Roundtable

on Literacy

Cong. Hinojosa Launches

South Texas Literacy Coalition

EDINBURG, TX – Dr. Sandra L. Baxter joined 

Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) and 

other experts from the literacy community, 

the arts, and from higher education at the 

University of Texas-Pan American to talk 

about strategies for improving literacy 

and solutions across the lifespan and in 

South Texas communities. The March 28 

Congressional Roundtable on Literacy in 

America, sponsored by Hinojosa, was one 

of the main events held in conjunction 

with the University’s weeklong Festival 

of International Books & Arts known as 

FESTIBA. The first-ever Congressional 

Roundtable, held on National Librarians’ 

Day, attracted more than 200 librarians, 

school administrators, community leaders, 

and university students and faculty.

Continued on page 3

Dr. Sandra L. Baxter (left) and Dr. Blandina Cárdenas, 

president of University of Texas, Pan American joined 

Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) in launching a 

major initiative to boost literacy in South Texas.
2 CATALYST | Spring 2008

CATALYST: cata·lyst (kat-a-list) What Does it Mean?

Scientists know catalyst as “a substance that alters the speed of a chemical reaction

and does not appear in the final product and undergoes no permanent changes; something that causes an important event to happen.” What We Know: As an impartial, but 

important broker and catalyst, the National Institute for Literacy seeks solutions to 

improve literacy opportunities for adults, youth, and children across the lifespan. We have 

named this new publication Catalyst in the spirit of embracing our leadership, innovation, 

and energy in the field of literacy.

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Welcome to Catalyst, the first official 

newsletter for the National Institute 

for Literacy in more than a decade. 

Some of you may remember the early editions 

of NIFL News in the 1990s. Today we have 

a new name and new look to help us bring 

you the latest news and information from the 

Institute and from the literacy community. 

The Institute is a small agency—13 staff 

members strong—but working to affect 

change on a massive scale. Within these pages 

you will learn about how we are carrying out 

the Institute’s Federal mandate of helping 

the nation address some of its literacy 

challenges. While we know that this is an 

enormous undertaking, we are also humbled 

and motivated daily by the great potential 

the Institute’s work has to impact the lives 

of millions of Americans. Working together 

with our Federal partners and drawing from 

examples of what works on the ground, the 

Institute is making meaningful contributions 

to literacy across the life span, from early 

childhood to adult education. 

The Institute had the opportunity to 

work with ABC News correspondent Pierre 

Thomas and producer Jack Date to help 

bring to light the plight of the adult learner. 

The result was a two-part series that began 

on February 25. For many who viewed the 

World News Tonight segments Coming 

Out of the Shadows: Illiteracy in America, 

the compelling stories and voices of adult 

learners who had languished for years with 

a secret that kept them hostage, and the joy 

they found on the journey to literacy, were 

startling. One viewer posted this comment 

on the ABC Web site following the show: 

“Thank you ABC for bringing awareness to 

America’s best-kept secrets. Adults with low 

literacy skills live in shame and fear of being 

‘found out.’” But for those of us on the front 

lines in the literacy community, the numbers, 

the faces of adults, youth and children, and 

the stories are all too familiar.

As the Institute looks ahead, we see where

we need to go in the coming years to help 

ensure that our nation is in a more secure 

place when it comes to having a more literate 

citizenry. It can be done. Our country can

truly be a land of opportunity, where education

is the great equalizer and where everyone

has the necessary tools to forge their hopes 

and dreams.

Sandra L. Baxter, Ed.D

Director, National Institute for Literacy

T

he Institute kicked off 2008 with Part 

2 of its live reading webcast, “From 

Assessment to Practice: ResearchBased Approaches to Teaching Reading to 

Adults.” In the January 11 program, expert 

guests Dr. John Kruidenier, Dr. Rosalind 

Davidson, and Ms. Susan McShane returned 

to present new instructional strategies for 

teaching fluency and vocabulary. In Part I, 

which aired in September 2007, Kruidenier, 

Davidson and McShane used two other 

components of reading—word analysis and 

comprehension—to illustrate research-based 

practices. They also explained how all four 

major components of reading provide a 

framework for assessing students’ reading 

ability and ultimately for improving adult 

learners’ reading skills. 

“Through these discussions, we give

literacy practitioners an opportunity not 

only to increase their knowledge, but also to 

raise the visibility of literacy and important

related issues that are of concern to the wider

community,” said Dr. Sandra L. Baxter, 

Institute director, who moderated the webcasts. “Technology,” Baxter added, “is one 

of the best ways for engaging and informing 

those in the field. And the ability to archive 

these programs on the Institute’s Web site 

allows us to create instruction and information on demand.” To access the webcast:

http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/lincs_media.html.

Read what these experts had to say:

Dr. John Kruidenier

Researcher and Author of

Teaching Adults to Read

...[A] strong line of

research clearly demonstrates 

that adult non-readers and 

beginning readers have almost no phonemic 

awareness or knowledge of the basic sounds 

in our language. 

Adult Reading

Showcased During 

Live Webcasts
CATALYST | Spring 2008 3

the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins 

University, and is a co-principal investigator for the National Institute 

of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study on the 

transition from Spanish reading into English reading. She also serves 

on numerous panels and boards 

including the National Research 

Council’s Committee on Teacher 

Preparation and the National 

Literacy Panel for Language 

Minority Children and Youth.

Reddy said plans to develop 

the publications include engaging 

key interest groups such as the 

National Council of La Raza. The 

Institute, created in 1991, has 

been publishing and disseminating 

early childhood publications for 

about six years through a process 

that begins with the findings 

from scientifically based research 

on reading and includes expert involvement, focus groups and peer 

review. For the Spanish-language publications, two focus groups are 

planned that will include Spanish-speaking family members of K–3 

children. The families will review and comment on the Spanishlanguage drafts of the two planned publications. ■

Update on Institute Publications:

Top-Ranked Products Meeting the Needs

of Families, Practitioners

Translating research into high-quality resources for educators,

parents and adult literacy providers has been a traditional strength

of the Institute. And work this past fiscal year continued the Institute’s 

record of achievement in this area. The Institute’s publications

continue to rank among the top 10 most requested publications in the 

inventory for EdPubs, the Institute’s and Department of Education’s 

national clearinghouse. The following books claimed the top five slots: 

Put Reading First: A Parent Guide; Dad’s Playbook: Coaching Kids 

to Read; A Child Becomes a Reader: Kindergarten Through Grade 3; 

Shining Stars: Kindergartners Learn to Read; and Put Reading First: 

The Teacher’s Guide. 

The Institute released nine new publications in 2006–2007.

Q.Ed: Scientific Evidence for Adult Literacy Educators, a newsletter

for adult educators, was among them. The new Shining Stars series 

for parents also made its debut last year. The Institute’s new brochure 

on scientifically based reading research summarizes the longer

monograph on the same topic, making this important information even 

more accessible to teachers. What Content-Area Teachers Should 

Know About Adolescent Literacy, published in October 2007, is filling 

an important gap in the literature on adolescent literacy. To learn more 

about these and other Institute publications or to order copies, visit 

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications.html.

FEATURES

Institute’s New Books Continued from Page 1

We are working hard to

use research findings as

the basis of meaningful,

culturally appropriate 

publications with Spanishspeaking families in mind.

Lynn Reddy, Deputy Director, 

National Institute for Literacy

Dr. Rosalind Davidson

Principal developer of the Adult Reading 

Components interactive Website.

...As accomplished readers, we are often 

not aware of how much understanding of 

what we read comes from the information 

we have absorbed from extensive reading 

and experiences. We bring all of this 

information to new text. 

Ms. Susan McShane

Reading Initiative 

Specialist at the

National Center for

Family Literacy

Good readers actually 

work.... we read for meaning. If poor 

readers do not do that, which often they 

don’t, we need to teach them some of the 

things that good readers do. That’s what 

comprehension strategy instruction is

all about. 

Roundtable Continued from Page 1

“I was delighted to be a part of this historic 

and important literacy event. I applaud Cong. 

Hinojosa for bringing us together and for 

advancing literacy and learning across South 

Texas,” said Baxter, who responded during the 

Congressional Roundtable to questions on challenges adult learners face and discussed the 

Institute’s adult literacy research and publications. 

The Roundtable marked the third time that 

Baxter has been invited to participate in a congressional event. In June 2007, she testified on 

adult literacy and workforce issues before the 

U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor at 

the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong 

Learning, and Competitiveness. And in July of 

that year, Baxter presented adult literacy findings 

at the Congressional Black Caucus Education 

Summit co-chaired by Reps. Robert C. Scott and 

Danny K. Davis.

At the close of the Congressional Roundtable, 

Hinojosa announced the formation of the South 

Texas Literacy Coalition, designed to enhance 

learning opportunities for the region by ensuring 

that all children and families have access to 

integrated literacy services and resources.

“Half of the adults over the age of 18 in our 

region do not have a high school diploma or 

GED. We are laying the groundwork so that this 

statistic will soon be obsolete, ” said Hinojosa.

In Texas, there are 3.3 million residents who 

have low-level literacy skills; 1 in 4 Texans lack 

basic reading and writing skills. 

“It is vital to put printed material in the

hands of our children and let them select the 

books they want to read,” said Hinojosa, who 

announced that Coalition partner, Reading Is 

Fundamental, will help make book ownership

a reality for many children in the region.

With a plan to give each child in the region 

three books a year, Hinojosa said, “I want to 

be remembered as the Congressman who gave 

them (children) their first book.” 
4 CATALYST | Spring 2008

Sams-Abiodun was a featured speaker at the 

National Institute for Literacy’s Community 

Literacy Summit. In her presentation, she 

shared the compelling story of how the then 

president of Loyola University and public 

housing residents came together more than 

a decade ago to address issues of community 

literacy. The Boggs Center, which promotes 

adult literacy as a vehicle for personal, 

economic and community empowerment, is 

the result of the evolution of that universitycommunity partnership that began in 1994. 

In this interview, Sams-Abiodun takes time 

to talk about the meaning of community 

literacy, the urgent need to restore literacy 

services in a city where 70 percent of the 

adult population in Greater New Orleans 

was reading at or below an eighth grade level 

before Hurricane Katrina, and hope and 

recovery post-Katrina. 

Q: Describe the adult learners the

Center supports? 

Sams-Abiodun: The Center does not 

provide direct services to adult learners. We 

serve more as a clearinghouse on issues of 

adult literacy. We see our role as building the 

community’s capacity to address the issue of 

adult literacy. That means working with our 

adult service provider network and with other 

primary stakeholders on the issue. Given our 

mission, the Lindy Boggs Center convenes 

these stakeholders—provider networks, 

government officials, K–12 institutions, 

community colleges, faith- and communitybased organizations and others—to create the 

Literacy Alliance. The Alliance serves as the 

practitioner and the Boggs Center is more 

of a research institute. Together we conduct 

training, professional development and 

advocacy to build community capacity. The 

Boggs Center brings national best practices

to bear in the community on adult literacy. 

Q: While there is no one overarching 

definition in the field of community literacy, 

how is it understood in the context of the 

mission of the Lindy Boggs Center?

Sams-Abiodun: At the Boggs Center, 

our mission and goal are to promote adult 

literacy as a vehicle for personal, economic 

and community development. Community 

literacy is a tool that is used as a catalyst 

for institutional change and for building 

community capacity. It moves the focus 

beyond just providing programs. 

In the Greater New Orleans area, we

know that many people need literacy

services. Pre-Katrina, 40 percent of adults 

were reading below a sixth-grade level; 30 

percent of adults were reading between a 

sixth- and eighth-grade level. That means 

that 70 percent of the adult population in 

Greater New Orleans was reading at or below 

an eighth-grade level. And fewer than 8 

percent were in traditional literacy programs. 

Given the immense number of low-literate 

individuals, we knew that we needed to 

go where adults were, since they were not 

coming to the traditional programs. 

When we asked adults why literacy

and literacy programs were important to 

them, most said to get a better job; to be

able to support their families; to be able 

to read to their children; to take care of 

themselves physically; and to be able to

read the Bible. 

A lot of our work now (at the Boggs 

Center) focuses on workforce development 

UP CLOSE

Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina left her family’s home mired

under six feet of water and uninhabitable after the storm. Today,

Dr. Petrice Sams-Abiodun and her family are living in the basement 

apartment of a relative while coping with building contractors. But 

Sams-Abiodun, the executive director of the Lindy Boggs National

Center for Community Literacy at Loyola University in New Orleans,

remains hard at work on restoring vital adult literacy programs and 

struggling to rebuild her own life.

UP CLOSE with Dr. Petrice Sams-Abiodun

Lindy Boggs National Center for Community Literacy 

When we came back after the storm, the focus was on rebuilding,

helping children get back to school; it was about violence, but 

nobody was saying it was about literacy. No one was talking about 

literacy as a tool for rebuilding lives. 
CATALYST | Spring 2008 5

and on integrating literacy and competency 

into the workplace. New Orleans needs a 

more skilled workforce to attract industry

to this area. This is so important to the 

recovery of the city. It is also just as relevant 

to residents who want to return and 

participate in the rebuilding and recovery

of the city. I believe that education and 

literacy are important assets that will assist

in the rebuilding of lives and this city. 

Q: How does the mission of the Boggs 

Center compare to other national literacy 

centers? And how do the unique culture, 

geography and racial composition of 

New Orleans influence your approach to 

community literacy?

Sams-Abiodun: Given the economic 

disparities and the disproportionate poverty 

in the state, you also have to take into 

consideration the unique geographic and 

racial makeup here and the strong cultural 

element. When I look across the nation at 

what other literacy centers are doing, I think 

that we do things that are comparable—a 

strong focus on adult education and 

instructional methods.

What I think is unique at the Boggs 

Center is what we have done to understand 

the impact that poverty and race have on 

creating and perpetuating the adult literacy 

problem. For example, our education system 

ranks worst in the nation and perpetuates the 

issue of adult literacy. So, unless we are able 

to change and strengthen our K–12 system, 

we will continually have this adult literacy 

problem. It’s a vicious cycle. For us the work 

of literacy must include system change of the 

institutions and processes that perpetuate the 

problem here, especially for certain subgroups 

of the population. 

We want to ultimately create a community of lifelong learners who view literacy as

a continuum. 

Q: Two years after Katrina, how would 

you describe some of the new challenges 

literacy organizations are facing? 

Sams-Abiodun: I think about a program 

here called The Road Home, which gives 

money to help residents rebuild their homes.

The application is a very intense and 

complicated process. Those who developed 

The Road Home program didn’t anticipate 

that so many people wouldn’t understand 

the application process. As a result, people 

from The Road Home program contacted us 

to help them address this issue. One of the 

challenges residents face is how to respond to 

and navigate complex and technical jargon 

found on many of the applications. The 

process is especially difficult for people who 

have basic or low literacy skills. 

Q: How would you describe some of the 

challenges that the Boggs Center and 

other literacy organizations in the city are 

grappling with since the hurricane?

Sams-Abiodun: Many adult literacy 

programs have not returned since the flood, 

and many will not. Another challenge is 

obtaining reliable, current and comprehensive 

data on the whereabouts of evacuees. There 

are some significant demographic shifts 

emerging. Our city is now more male than 

female. There is an increase in the Hispanic 

population, which is very new for this region. 

At first we saw a lot of Hispanic men coming 

into the city for work, but now there are more 

women and children as well. The children 

are entering the school system. Women are 

using the health care system. Just about every 

organization and institution in the city must 

now be prepared to address this population 

of “new New Orleanians.” The emerging 

Hispanic population must also be addressed 

by the adult literacy system. 

Q: What models of community literacy has 

the Boggs Center developed that other 

literacy organizations can use or emulate?

Sams-Abiodun: Pre-Katrina, we put a 

lot of our efforts into service providers—

developing the capacity of service providers, 

conducting professional development and 

training, collecting and sharing data—and

we bought a lot of computer equipment in 

the hope that these service providers would

be able to reach more people. Before the 

storm, we had about 43 literacy providers

in the Greater New Orleans area. Now,

post-Katrina, we have eight or 10 providers 

that are open and functioning. To some 

degree, all of the commitment and capacitybuilding efforts were decimated by the storm. 

One important lesson learned is the 

importance of building different kinds of

partnerships. We now have to partner with 

programs like The Road Home and the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

to support and reach the people who are 

trying to rebuild their lives. In the past, we 

were more focused on literacy and education 

programs. We also recognize that we need 

more literacy champions. When we came 

back after the storm, the focus was on 

rebuilding, helping children get back to 

school; it was about violence, but nobody

was saying it was about literacy. No one

was talking about literacy as a tool for 

rebuilding lives. 

That is why we need more people

who are not in the literacy field but who

have the power and the influence to change 

things that impact the population that we

are working with. ■

When we asked adults why literacy and literacy programs were 

important to them, most said to get a better job; to be able to

support their families; to be able to read to their children; to take 

care of themselves physically; and to be able to read the Bible.
6 CATALYST | Spring 2008

Adolescent Literacy Report Serving as a Ready Resource for Teachers 

While the nation’s adolescents will 

need to achieve higher levels of 

literacy than previous generations, 

nearly 9 million fourth- through 12th-graders 

are struggling with reading and writing, 

according to What Content-Area Teachers 

Should Know About Adolescent Literacy, a

new report released by the National Institute 

for Literacy. 

Without intervention, these adolescents 

will be at risk of dropping out of school. 

“Many will be forced to face an increasingly 

competitive and literate 

world where the ability to 

read and to write are necessities for success at home,

in the workplace and in

society,” said Institute director

Dr. Sandra L. Baxter. 

The 61-page report 

summarizes some of the 

current literature on 

adolescent literacy research 

and practice and also 

suggests some methods of 

building adolescent reading 

and writing skills in the 

classroom. A preview copy 

of the report was issued in 

2006. One feature of the 2007 report is an 

expanded reference section that includes work 

in adolescent literacy published

since 2006. 

The new report found that middle 

school and high school students across 

socioeconomic levels struggle with learning 

academic content because they cannot read 

and write at grade level. Teachers should use 

systematic, explicit and direct instruction to 

help these students, according to the report, 

which was developed by the Institute, the 

U.S. Department of Education and the 

National Institute of Child Health and 

Human Development (NICHD). 

Many middle school and high school 

teachers, however, have little or no 

preparation for teaching these skills within 

their content-area disciplines. The purpose 

of the report is to give content-area teachers 

information, tools and resources (including 

specific examples found in the appendix) 

to help them become part of the literacy 

solution in their schools. 

“We are not expecting content-area 

teachers to teach reading to each student in 

their classrooms. We recognize that their job 

is to teach the content material. However,

the report provides useful literacy background 

knowledge as well as resources for the 

content-area 

teacher,” explained 

Tanya Shuy, 

the Institute’s 

former senior 

program officer 

for Adolescent 

Literacy and 

Learning 

Disabilities. 

And the 

information 

provided in 

the report will 

be welcomed, 

say those in 

the literacy 

community. “It’s clear to me from my 

experience with Striving Readers projects 

that the people implementing adolescent 

literacy programs are ready for information 

about the role of content-area teachers in 

teaching literacy skills,” says Marcia Kingman, 

who oversees the Striving Readers grants 

for the Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education at the U.S. Department of 

Education. “I think the Institute does a good 

job of providing theory and practice in a tone 

that is not condescending to teachers and 

is rich with information that teachers will 

value,” adds Kingman about the report.

The report, a summary of the current 

literature on adolescent literacy research and 

practice, suggests some methods of building 

adolescent reading and writing skills in 

the classroom. “Lower literacy skills hold 

students back and are a major barrier to 

their learning academic content,” said Brett 

Miller, a program official in reading research 

at the NICHD. “This report offers concrete 

advice on how teachers can strengthen their 

student’s literacy skills in tandem with their 

content-area instruction.” The NICHD, the 

U.S. Department of Education, and other 

organizations currently sponsor long-term 

research studies that ultimately will add to 

knowledge in the field of adolescent literacy.

What Do Good Readers Do?

For teachers with struggling readers, Shuy 

offers this advice: “It is important to refer 

students who need more help to the special 

education teacher, reading specialist or

literacy coach because it is not expected 

that content-area teachers will provide this 

specialized instruction.”

 In addition, the report tackles issues 

related to literacy instruction at the secondary 

level, including reading assessments, writing 

and motivation, and it provides strategies 

for helping learners from diverse family 

backgrounds, those with learning disabilities 

or those from various cultural, linguistic or 

socioeconomic backgrounds. These strategies 

include presenting text and ideas in different 

ways; breaking down literacy and content 

instruction into “smaller chunks;” providing 

extended talk time, particularly to those 

who are learning English or who speak a 

nonstandard dialect of English; modeling and 

providing instruction in academic English; 

and talking with students individually about 

what they are learning and encouraging them 

to explain and clarify their thoughts.

The report, What Content-Area 

Teachers Should Know About Adolescent 

Literacy, is available online at the Institute’s 

Web site (www.nifl.org), or order it by 

contacting the Institute’s clearinghouse, 

EDPubs, at 1-800-228-8813 (TDD/TTY 

1-877-576-7734); by e-mailing edpubs@inet.

ed.gov, or faxing 1-301-470-1244. ■
CATALYST | Spring 2008 7

BOOK FOCUS

While middle school 

and high school 

administrators and 

teachers share concern over 

adolescent literacy, they often 

work “in isolation” within their 

own schools to find solutions, 

according to Informed Choices 

for Struggling Adolescent Readers: 

A Research-Based Guide to 

Instructional Programs and 

Practices. In the 255-page book, 

the authors provide educators with 

a national context on adolescent 

literacy, along with resources 

and best practices that support 

struggling readers. We spoke 

with Deshler, one of the book’s 

co-authors. Deshler is also a 

member of the National Institute 

for Literacy’s Advisory Board 

and a professor in the School 

of Education at the University 

of Kansas, where he directs the 

Center for Research on Learning.

Q: You write: “Poor literacy 

skills are all too common in 

America’s schools.” From your 

findings, it appears that there 

is support for third-graders, 

but that there is a “welldocumented ‘reading slump’ 

that occurs in U.S. schools after 

fourth grade.” Why is that? 

A: As a nation, we have 

largely ignored the acquisition 

of reading skills in the upper 

grades. The prevailing assumption 

has been that if students arrive 

in secondary schools, they’ve 

got the necessary literacy skills. 

Although educators have some 

promising practices for teaching 

younger children how to read, 

there are many schools that 

aren’t using them or using them 

effectively. As a result, we have 

thousands of children who 

pass through those early years 

and don’t get the high-quality 

literacy instruction they need. In 

addition, certain students may 

have been successful in decoding 

words in the early grades. But 

as learners move from grade 

three to four and the curriculum 

changes, and the emphasis moves 

to comprehension, vocabulary 

and speed, they may not have the 

array of skills and strategies that 

will help them to be successful. 

Q: Can you describe some of 

the other factors that compound 

the problem of a gap in reading 

skills for adolescents?

A: The root of the problem 

of adolescent literacy is often 

the way in which teachers and 

administrators in secondary 

education are prepared in their 

university training. Often, very 

little or no attention is given to 

issues surrounding problems of 

adolescent literacy and strategies 

for addressing these problems 

when they are encountered in the 

classroom. There is a prevailing 

assumption that by the time 

students arrive in middle school 

and high school they have 

acquired the necessary literacy 

skills. At the secondary level, 

there is so much content that 

must be taught; plus there is the 

pressure of state competency 

exams that teachers constantly 

feel. While not every teacher is a 

reading teacher, every teacher can 

play an important role to improve 

the literacy skills of students. 

Q: The book advocates 

increased time for literacy 

during the school day. What 

do you say to educators who 

fear that this would take away 

from instructional time for other 

content areas? 

A: That’s a huge dilemma; 

however, if there are students who 

have moved from kindergarten 

through the elementary grades, 

and now they’re in sixth or seventh grade and can’t read well, 

they will not be successful in 

comprehending the curriculum 

unless we find a way to deal with 

their literacy issues. For students 

who are so far behind, perhaps by 

three or four grade levels, there 

has to be an opportunity for them 

to close that gap through intensive, explicit and direct instruction. It is a real challenge for 

school administrators to find time 

in the school schedule to provide 

the kind of intensive instruction 

that struggling adolescent readers 

need. For students who are considerably behind their grade level, 

it may be necessary to provide 

them with a supplemental reading class with reduced numbers 

of students where they can receive 

targeted reading instruction. All 

teachers in a secondary school, 

however, can play an important 

role in improving literacy skills 

for adolescents by modeling for 

them various strategies that can be

used to more effectively read and

learn critical information. It is also

important to make connections

between what is being taught 

in supplemental reading classes 

and what is being taught in the 

subject matter classes by having 

teachers do some co-planning.

Q: You write about the need for 

a “school improvement team” 

to tackle literacy achievement. 

How can this contribute to 

student success?

A: Schools need a literacy 

team that brings together key 

teachers and administrators, who 

identify those students who have 

literacy difficulties and together 

determine which ones should be 

targeted for literacy improvement. 

Q. What other advice do you 

have for educators as they 

address adolescent literacy and 

struggling readers?

A. I’ve been working in this

area nearly 40 years. I have been

convinced that high-quality 

instruction from a team of teachers can make a world of difference 

in the life of a student. ■

An Interview with Author Dr. Don Deshler 

As a nation, we have largely ignored the

acquisition of reading skills in the upper grades.
8 CATALYST | Spring 2008

NEWS IN BRIEF

Millions of adults in America are 

living daily with a troubling 

secret—they aren’t able to read or 

write at a level that allows them to function 

in society, to achieve their goals or to develop 

their knowledge and potential. 

For those working on the frontlines of 

literacy and on adult education, however, 

neither these adults nor their numbers are 

new. But for many who viewed the twopart ABC World News Tonight series on 

February 25 and 26, the numbers of adults 

in the nation who can’t read or write or 

whose literacy skills are marginal at best, were 

“staggering and unbelievable.” One viewer 

posted this comment on the ABC Web site 

following the show: “Thank you ABC for 

bringing awareness to America’s best-kept 

secrets. Adults with low literacy skills live in 

shame and fear of being ‘found out.’”

Part one of the ABC News series focused 

on Monica Baxley, a resident of the Florida 

panhandle who learned to read at age 41, and 

on the national problem of illiteracy, including 

that “an estimated 30 million people in the 

U.S. cannot read a simple sentence.”

For Marty Finsterbusch, the series

provided a boon to the adult literacy and 

education field. 

“The ABC News special was good in 

that it brought needed attention and public 

awareness to the issue of literacy in a way 

that we haven’t had in many years,” added 

Finsterbusch, executive director of Voice 

for Adult Literacy United for Education 

(VALUE), a national organization of the 

alumni of adult literacy education programs. 

Finsterbusch, a former National Institute 

for Literacy Fellow, and an alumni of adult 

literacy programs himself, said VALUE’s 

members are men and women who are 

learning—or have learned—to read, write, or 

speak English as adults. VALUE is operated 

by adult learners.

The series, Living in the Shadows: 

Illiteracy in America and Out of the Shadows: 

Overcoming Illiteracy, “was brief, but what it 

covered was real,” said Dr. David J. Rosen, 

moderator of the Institute’s Special Topics 

Discussion List and adult literacy expert. 

When national ABC News Reporter Pierre 

Thomas and his Producer Jack Date set out 

to showcase the lives of low literacy adults, 

they turned to the Institute for information 

and resources. An interview with Institute 

Director Dr. Sandra L. Baxter appeared in 

part one of the series. The story took ABC 

to Grand Rapids, Mich., a city of 184,000, 

where Thomas found that one out of every 

five residents has difficulty reading or cannot 

read at all. They asked Susan Ledy, executive 

director of the Literacy Center of West 

Michigan, why? 

“It’s really the root cause of many issues,” 

Ledy told ABC. “And if we can solve the 

problem at the root cause level, think of 

all the changes that we’ll make in terms of 

crime, economics, poverty. It really is so 

intertwined with all of those issues,” Ledy 

added. Grand Rapids, she said, “is a good 

example of solutions to the problem because a 

lot of things are going on and it has a mayor 

who publicly challenged us to reduce or our 

illiteracy rate.” 

At a time when millions of adults still 

cannot read above a basic level and even more

cannot perform simple, everyday quantitative 

literacy tasks required in this society, Baxter

called the ABC News series “an unprecedented

opportunity for those in the literacy community to unveil the extent of a problem that 

many in the nation thought had gone the 

way of the horse and buggy.” 

“It’s not too late to change this picture,” 

said Dr. Troy Justesen, Assistant Secretary

of the Office of Vocational and Adult 

Education at the U.S. Department of 

Education. “Investing in adult literacy is a 

strong partnership among local, state, and 

national programs,” Justesen added. “Adults 

who can read and read well are critical to a 

strong economy.” ■

ABC World News Series on Adult Literacy Sparked

Awareness, Offered Overdue Look at Problem

Regional Summits Convene

Health and Literacy Providers 

Health literacy is often defined as the ability 

to read, understand and act upon healthrelated information. But for many millions

of adults with low literacy levels, health and 

health care can be life or death issues. 

The state of health literacy, and 

strategies for helping adult learners and 

medical patients with low-level literacy 

skills cope at home and in the doctor’s 

office, were the focus of three national 

summits convened in February and March 

by the National Institute for Literacy’s 

Literacy Information and Communications 

System (LINCS) Regional Resource Centers. 

LINCS is the backbone of the Institute’s 

dissemination system, providing information 

on a wide variety of topics, issues and 

resources relevant to literacy.

The summits, held in San Francisco, 

Atlanta, and Indianapolis, brought together 

literacy practitioners, health care providers, 

and educators, who shared information 

about health literacy research and discussed

opportunities for partnerships that could 

help eliminate literacy barriers to accessing 

quality health care. 

Parents Partner with School Districts

in Two-City Literacy Pilot Project

The Institute launched a two-city literacy 

training pilot project to actively engage 

parents in learning simple, effective 

strategies that they can use with their K–3 

children at home. Support and interest 

from teachers and administrators in the 

pilot sites—Somerville Public Schools 

(Massachusetts) and Warwick Public 

Schools (Rhode Island)—have been 

positive. The parent-focused training 

materials will incorporate scientifically 

based reading research and will use 

existing Institute booklets. The project, 

launched in February, will train teachers 

and other educators from these school 

districts to lead the 12-week parent sessions, 

which are expected to run through May.
CATALYST | Spring 2008 9

FEATURE

Institute Teams Up with National

Mentoring Movement, Mocha Moms, Inc.

nstitute Director, Dr. Sandra L. Baxter, 

launched partnerships with two national 

organizations—an African-American 

mentoring initiative and a support group 

for more than 3,000 mothers of color. 

Through innovative collaborations with the 

new National CARES Mentoring Movement, 

spearheaded by former Essence magazine 

Editor Susan L. Taylor, and with Mocha 

Moms, Inc., the Institute is serving as an 

expert resource on literacy and extending its 

reach into communities of color.

In January, the Institute and Mocha 

Moms, Inc., announced the beginning

of a partnership to support early 

literacy at home. Many Mocha 

Moms members have chosen not 

to work full-time outside the 

home in order to devote more 

time to their families. 

As part of the agreement, 

the Institute and Mocha Moms 

will kick off a yearlong national “Take 

Your Child to the Library Day” campaign to 

help foster a love of books and reading and 

to encourage at least 500 children in each 

of the target cities to apply for library cards. 

The Institute will also support Mocha Moms’ 

efforts to increase the number of parents who 

read to their children while visiting beauty 

salons and barbershops. Institute publications 

will be among the books available to parents 

and children in designated reading corners of 

the shops. Moms members in 35 states have 

already received packets of the Institute’s early 

childhood publications. 

In October, Mocha Moms in the 

Southeast Regional Chapter invited Baxter 

to keynote its Education Summit in Atlanta. 

“Closing the Gap on Minority Achievement” 

is the organization’s national community 

service initiative. Baxter has also been asked to 

address the Northeast Region’s Mocha Moms 

Education Summit this summer. 

Since beginning its partnership with the 

National CARES Mentoring Movement 

(formerly called Essence CARES 

Mentoring Movement) nearly a year ago, the 

Institute has had the opportunity to distribute 

its first national full-page advertisement and 

an 8-page insert featuring a handy reading 

checklist for parents to more than 1.5 million 

Essence readers. The magazine is considered 

the leading lifestyle magazine for AfricanAmerican women. The theme for both 

products was Literacy Begins at Home.

Says the initiative’s Taylor: “Essence 

CARES, the call to action to secure vulnerable 

African-American children, has grown into 

the National CARES Mentoring Movement, 

the largest mentor-recruitment initiative 

in the history of the nation. The guidance 

and support of Dr. Sandra Baxter and the 

National Institute for Literacy staff has made 

it possible for us to equip volunteer mentors 

and our national partner organizations with 

expert advice and resources on how to use 

literacy and reading to help secure the future 

of our youth.”

When Taylor appeared on a May 

episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which 

featured national mentoring programs and 

recruitment, she invited Baxter to be a part of 

the show. The Institute, in conjunction with 

Taylor, produced a highly successful Literacy 

and Mentoring Guide that is available to the 

public through EdPubs, distributed nationally 

to the initiative’s volunteer mentors, and to 

its partners including the National Urban 

League, the YWCA USA, The Links Inc., 

and 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Oprah 

plugged the Guide on the segment—viewed 

by more than 18 million viewers in 123 

countries—and credited the work of the 

Institute. Baxter has appeared with Taylor 

in cities across the country to provide 

information on reading and literacy to packed 

audiences and in communities launching their 

own CARES Mentoring programs. To see a 

copy of the Guide visit the Institute’s website 

www.nifl.gov. To learn more about the 

National CARES Mentoring Movement or to 

become a mentor, contact Paul Gourdine, the 

national coordinator at (404) 584-2744. ■

I

Partnerships Flourish; Dr. Sandra L. Baxter (center) and B. Denise Hawkins (second 

from right), the Institute’s Communications Director, are joined by Mocha Moms officer, 

Shenia Kirkland (second from left) and Mocha Moms members at the Southeast Regional 

Education Summit in Atlanta. Susan L. Taylor (insert photo) is spearheading a national

mentoring movement that is incorporating literacy.
10 CATALYST | Spring 2008

New Institute Staff Members Welcomed

B. Denise 

Hawkins

Associate 

Director, 

Communications

Ms. Hawkins 

joined the staff 

of the National Institute for Literacy 

in February 2007. An award-winning 

journalist, her stories have been 

published by Religion News Service, 

The Syracuse Post-Standard, The 

Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, 

Today’s Christian magazine and Howard 

University magazine. Ms. Hawkins 

has held senior-level public relations 

positions with two Washington, D.C., 

firms specializing in higher education 

and health disparities. The Baltimore 

native earned her bachelor’s degree in 

journalism from Howard University and 

her master’s degree in journalism from 

The Pennsylvania State University. 

Keith Smiley

Contract

Specialist

Mr. Smiley joined 

the staff in 2006. 

Prior to coming 

to the Institute, 

he was with ComTech Communications 

Technologies, a broadband services and 

information technology company. While 

at ComTech, he developed a viable 

contracts department by implementing 

a systematic contract administration 

plan to support program managers in 

preparing, negotiating and maintaining 

government and commercial contracts. 

Mr. Smiley earned a bachelor’s degree 

in business management from Howard 

University and holds a master’s certificate in government contracts from

ESI International.

Meet the Institute Staff

Sandra L. Baxter

Director

After joining the Institute in 1999, Dr. 

Baxter was designated interim director 

in 2001 and appointed director in June 

2005. Under Dr. Baxter’s guidance, the 

Institute has undertaken new work on early 

childhood, adolescent and adult reading. 

Previously, she directed the Institute’s national 

reading research dissemination campaign, 

The Partnership for Reading, which is a 

collaborative effort of the Institute, the U.S. 

Department of Education and the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Baxter 

was a senior evaluator at the U.S. General 

Accounting Office, where her work focused 

on federal education policy and programs. 

She began her career working in communitybased programs for disadvantaged youth and 

adults, where she advised students on college 

admissions and financial aid requirements. 

A graduate of Howard University, she holds 

a master’s degree from Loyola College in 

Baltimore and a doctoral degree in education 

from the Harvard University Graduate School 

of Education.

Lynn Reddy

Deputy Director

Ms. Reddy manages several contracts designed 

to raise awareness and disseminate information

about scientifically based reading research.

She has more than 11 years’ experience as a

volunteer tutor and a teacher’s aide in a

variety of adult literacy program settings. 

Before joining the Institute in 1999, Ms. 

Reddy worked in public affairs at the U.S. 

Department of Defense, and prior to that 

she was press secretary for the House Armed 

Services Committee and for Representative 

Les Aspin of Wisconsin. She holds a bachelor’s 

degree from Duke University and master’s 

degrees in education and public administration from the Harvard University Graduate 

School of Education and the Kennedy School 

of Government, respectively. 

Susan Boorse

Executive Officer, Budget/Administration

Prior to joining the Institute as executive officer responsible for budget and administration,

Ms. Boorse was an administrative officer and 

budget analyst for the Peace Corps. She also 

served four years as a VISTA volunteer, working with a literacy program in Philadelphia, 

a rural school district in Mississippi and a 

fledgling Habitat for Humanity affiliate in 

Philadelphia. She earned an undergraduate in 

urban studies from Temple University and a 

master’s degree in public administration from 

the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Ms. 

Boorse and has more than 20 years of experience in the Federal government.

Katrina Lancaster

Management and Operations Specialist

Ms. Lancaster joined the Institute staff in 

March 2000 as a management and operations 

specialist, responsible for a variety of 

administrative matters, including invoices

and budget and procurement documents. 

Suzanne Randazzo

Management and Program Analyst

Rejoining the Institute staff in 2001,

Ms. Randazzo is a management and program 

analyst in the Executive Office. Previously 

she worked for the Institute from January 

1992 to October 1999, when she transferred 

to the National Commission on Library 

and Information Services. Ms. Randazzo is 

responsible for a variety of administrative 
CATALYST | Spring 2008 11

matters and manages travel arrangements 

for staff, Advisory Board members and other 

invited participants. She has more than 20

years of experience as a career federal employee. 

Andrea Grimaldi

Senior Program Officer,

Early Childhood Literacy

Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Grimaldi 

served as the training manager for professional 

development within the Public Broadcasting 

Service’s Ready To Learn initiative and 

worked at Zero To Three in the Center for 

Program Excellence, providing training and 

technical assistance to care providers working 

with infants, toddlers and their families. She 

has taught in many early childhood education 

settings in the Washington, D.C., area, New 

Jersey and London, England. Ms. Grimaldi 

holds a bachelor’s degree from Marymount 

University and a master’s degree from 

Bank Street College of Education, with a 

specialization in early childhood leadership.

Jo Maralit

Senior Program Officer, Technology

Ms. Maralit joined the Institute in 2003. 

She works on the Institute’s technologyrelated projects, including the Literacy 

Information and Communications System. 

Previously, she taught for four years in the 

District of Columbia Public School System, 

where her interest in how technology can 

facilitate teaching and learning began. Ms. 

Maralit received her undergraduate degree 

in education from The George Washington 

University and a master’s degree in technology 

in education from the Harvard University 

Graduate School of Education.

Shelly Coles

Management and Program Analyst

Ms. Coles joined the Institute in 1998. She

is currently the assistant to the director and

programs of the Institute. In this capacity, 

Ms. Coles provides advice to the director and 

assists senior project officers in administering 

and managing their programs and contracts. 

She has worked in both the Federal government and the private sector, having held 

positions in the U.S. Department of State, 

National Research Council and the National 

Governors’ Association. 

Steve Langley

Staff Assistant

Mr. Langley responds to requests for literacy

information, serves as liaison to the Institute’s 

Advisory Board and performs other administrative duties. Prior to joining the Institute in 

1997 as a staff assistant, he was a copy editor 

for The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina, 

Insight magazine and the Congressional Quarterly

in Washington, D.C. 

Darlene McDonald

Management and Program Analyst

Ms. McDonald assists the communications 

director in processing all the Institute’s

publications. Previously, she served as administrative assistant in grants and procurement. 

Prior to joining the Institute in 1992, she 

held grants and contracts positions with

the National Science Foundation and the

U.S. Department of Education. She has

more than 18 years of experience as a career 

Federal employee. 

JAMES “JIM” B. WILLIAMS 

On Loan to The Institute from The Office

of Vocational and Adult Education

Jim Williams began a yearlong detail at the 

Institute on April 14, 2008. Williams, on 

loan from the Department of Education, 

Office of Adult and Vocational Education 

(OVAE) where he served since 2002, worked 

most recently in the Accountability and 

Performance Branch as the Principal Advisor 

to the Branch Chief. The Branch collected 

data on the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

Technical Program. 

Before joining OVAE, Williams was the 

Principal Advisor to the Director of the 

Department’s Center for Rural Education. 

He has also served in other supervisory and 

expert consultant capacities in the Federal 

government and in higher education. 

To Our Readers,

Welcome to the inaugural 

issue of Catalyst, a quarterly 

newsletter from the Institute’s 

Communications Office.

Catalyst contains news, information, and features about the 

programs and services of the 

National Institute for Literacy. 

Catalyst is published for the 

Institute’s constituents.

CATALYST

Published quarterly by the

National Institute for Literacy

Publisher

Sandra L. Baxter, Ed.D.

Editor and Writer

B. Denise Hawkins, M.A.

Publications Coordinator

Darlene McDonald

Writer

Patricia Crisafulli

Copy Editor

EEI Communications 

Design Services

Graves Fowler Creative

Address Changes/to Subscribe Contact: 

Editor, National Institute for Literacy

1775 I Street, NW, Suite 730

Washington, DC 20006-2417

www.nifl.gov

About the National Institute for Literacy:

The National Institute for Literacy is authorized

and mandated under the No Child Left Behind Act 

to work on helping children, youth and adults to 

become successful readers. Under this authorization, the Institute’s efforts include supporting 

scientifically based reading research and disseminating information on reading across the lifespan. 

In consultation with the Departments of Education, 

Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute 

serves as a national resource on literacy expertise, 

research, policy, and practice.

Read Catalyst online at:

www.nifl.gov
Join the Institute’s

Discussion List

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