Special Guest: Rhonda Leon from the Texas Education Agency, as the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant manager (CLSD), shares insights at the West Texas Reading Symposium!

Below are some of the key topics discussed on this episode:

• How the Science of Reading and Research-Based Instructional Strategies Support Reading Education
• How the open education resources incorporate the RLA Research-Based Instructional Strategies

RLA Research-Based Instructional Strategies are

• RBIS #1: Foundational Skills
• RBIS #2: Text-Complexity
• RBIS #3: Knowledge Coherence
• RBIS #4: Text-Based Responses

Make sure to Like, Subscribe, Comment, and Share with other Educators so they can benefit from this fascinating discussion also! Let us know what you learned from this episode and the West Texas Reading Symposium this year!

LIVE from the 2025 West Texas Reading Symposium, join Lillian Frazier and Texas Education Agency Associate Commissioner of Curriculum & Instruction Nicholas Keith.

Some of the topics covered in this episode include:

• The Texas Reading Initiative grant funded the West Texas Reading Symposium
• Reviewed literacy challenges in K-12 education
• Guest speaker Mr. Keith (Associate Commissioner of Curriculum and Instruction) provided insight on:
• • On the vision of Strong Foundations
  • high-quality instructional materials
  • RBIS
  • The evolution of the curriculum in the upcoming years
• Discussed strategies and supports for striving readers

Make sure to Like, Subscribe, Comment, and Share with other Educators so they can benefit from this fascinating discussion also! Let us know what you learned from this episode and the West Texas Reading Symposium this year!

Author Meagan O’Toole Pitts and illustrator Ashton Kaleigh, both El Paso natives, speak with Dr. Jose Velasquez, Director of ESC19’s Academic Instruction and School Support Department (AISS), about their book Carmelita, aimed specifically for 5th grade readers. The book tells the tale of the protest about the harsh treatment of Mexicans at El Paso bathhouses in 1917 from the perspective of a girl who is 5 years old in the present day. In addition to discussing the creation of the book, the topic of biliteracy and bilingualism is discussed as a reflection of local culture.