Regular readers may recall the saga of Jamie, Anna, and Al as they sought info about the effectiveness of an early literacy curriculum. See the bottom of this post if you need to catch up on the story from the beginning.

In this post, we learn that Jamie et al. have a positive lead for evidence-based instruction. We pick it up on a “snow day.”

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Enjoying lingering over a second cup of coffee because of an unplanned “snow day,” Jamie composed an e-mail message to Anna and Al. She is reporting to them about her efforts to make contact with two professors identified by Professor Bebopp as possible resources.

Hey, you guys, I have some good news and some bad news. You know I was going to contact Joan Peters and Patrice Smith to ask for help in our project. Well, I haven’t heard back from Peters, and more about her in a sec.

I did have a great brief chat with Smith. I think she might be our ticket out of this conundrum!!! (Is that the right word?)

She would be glad to meet with us AND last night she sent me a link to a site that sounds like it’s exactly what we want.

Here’s the link: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

I dont know why I didn’t remember about it before! I know I’ve heard some people talk about it, but it sounded way technical. I just didn’t make a connection.
But, just glancing at it this morning, it might be THE ticket. It’s, like, all about effectiveness.

So, I’m going to spend a few hours of my ice holiday (thanks, Anna) exploring it.

Now, about Joanie Peters. She hasn’t responded to my e-mails. Maybe I messed up by mentioning XYZ in my first message. But I searched a bit about her. She’s a reading prof, as you know. But, she’s also one of the authors for the MNO reading program, and that’s competition for the XYZ program we’re supposed to be considering. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk with us?

But, is there research about XYZ vs MNO? Wouldn’t that be cool?! I’m hoping I can learn more from the WhatWorks site.

And, Anna, I know you guys use a special weather service and have to make tough decisions about closing the schools...but I’m grateful for the day off, even if I’ll hear it from some of my parents who don’t realize that some of the roads out in the rural areas are really, really way slippery, dangerous for busses.

More later, my friends!

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Earlier posts in this series:

• Evaluating curricula: #1—Jamie's committee hears from the curriculum company representative What do you want to know about curricula? 5 December 2021

• Evaluating curricula: #2: Jamie thinks big What is the goal? 26 December 2021

• Evaluating curricula: #3 Why do the principals pursue help? 28 December 2021

• Evaluating curricula: #4 The research discussion starts? 28 December 2022

• Evaluating curricula: #5 What do the three committee members learn about research? 2 January 2022

• Evaluating curricula—# 6 What does the team discuss on the way to the parking impound lot? 3 February 2022

• Evaluating Curricula—# 7 How do the intrepid 3 follow up on their efforts to get help with assessing curricula's effectiveness? 7 February 2022

• Evaluating Curricula—# 8 What does the team report to the committee about progress in finding research on reading curricula? 26 February 2022

• Evaluating Curricula—# 9 What happens when Alberto, Anna, and Jamie debrief? 27 February 2022