Taking the lead on adolescent literacy

Directly linked with overall student achievement, graduation rates, and success in higher education, literacy is essential for reaching academic goals in a school or district. Adolescent literacy has become the focus of many school improvement efforts to meet the needs of upper elementary, middle and high school students. Without the requisite expertise in literacy, administrators and other school leaders charged with literacy improvement initiatives need a systemic and sustained approach for improving student literacy and learning. Taking the Lead on Adolescent Literacy presents a concrete, user-friendly, and practical guide to developing, implementing, and monitoring a schoolwide or districtwide literacy action plan for Grades 4-12. Readers will find rubrics, tools, and processes developed and field-tested by the authors over more than 10 years of close work with schools across the country.