Fulfilling the Science of Reading Promise
WORKSHOP CONTENT STRAND
Literacy & Social Justice, Partnering for Impact
Session Description
As fierce advocates for racial equality in literacy in Oakland and nationally, Kareem Weaver and Jessica Sliwerski believe that literacy is a fundamental civil right. In this presentation, they will show how to strategically leverage the power of intentional multi-tiered systems of support with one-to-one, high-dosage tutoring for Tier 3 instruction. They will also highlight the success of this model in practice with an OUSD teacher who will share how Ignite! Reading is helping deliver impactful outcomes in the classroom and unlocking opportunities for students from all walks of life.
Speaker(s)
Jessica Reid Sliwerski
CEO and Co-Founder
Ignite! Reading
Driven by an unshakable commitment to ensuring every student in America is given the right to read on time, Jessica Sliwerski is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ignite! Reading, a virtual 1:1 high-dosage foundational reading skills intervention literacy program. To reimagine how students are taught to read in school, Jessica launched Ignite! Reading during her time as CEO of Open Up Resources, a national nonprofit designed to increase equity in education by making high-quality curricula openly accessible to schools and districts. She began her career as an educator with Teach For America before becoming a founding teacher, then an Assistant Principal at Success Academy Charter Schools. Bringing instructional best practices from the charter world to district schools, she became a network Literacy Specialist at The Urban Assembly, a nonprofit organization overseeing more than 10,000 students in secondary schools. Previously, Jessica co-founded the adaptive literacy software company LightSail Education.
Kareem Weaver
Co-Founder and Executive Director
FULCRUM Oakland
Kareem Weaver is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of FULCRUM, which partners with stakeholders to improve reading results for students. He is the Oakland NAACP's 2nd Vice President and Chair of its Education Committee; his advocacy is featured in the film The Right to Read. Mr. Weaver previously served as New Leaders’ Executive Director of the Western Region and was an award-winning teacher and administrator. He has undergraduate degrees from Morehouse College and a master’s in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Weaver believes in the potential of all students, the brotherhood of man, and the importance of service above self. His educational heroine, for literacy instruction, is the late Marva Collins.