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We’re working with exceptional educators around the country as we build our free, media-rich service for professional learning. We’d love to connect with you as well!

Black teachers talking together in classroom

Educator Spotlight: Get to Know Katina

Katina Johnson is a 25-year veteran teacher in Toledo Public Schools who currently serves as a K-3 intervention assessment teacher. Ms. Johnson brings her passion for teaching and learning into the classroom with her each day, using her training in research-based strategies to help students blossom into readers. As a member of the Reading Universe cadre, she offers feedback on our resources and advice for making the site engaging and useful.

Learn more about the team of educators who advise our work.

Katina Johnson hugging a group of her students in her classroom
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    “I'm still teaching because I get to do what I believe I was born to do. I get to specifically work with students who are struggling with reading and help them overcome those struggles!”

    Katina Johnson, M.Ed.
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    “It's a disservice to our students if we don't educate ourselves and if we don't teach them to our fullest potential and to their fullest potential. We have to know that our students are capable and we have to provide them with those challenging texts and activities. Having high expectations for our students will help them break cycles, become successful readers, and be able to make better choices in their life because they are literate.”

    Nereida Antúnez-Gamón Literary Specialist Sunland Park, New Mexico
  • Emily Jennings

    “Getting to collaborate with other educators who are as passionate as I am about reading is a breath of fresh air! Seeing that others want to be agents of change encourages me to continue to fight for research-based practices, because I know they are what works.”

    Emily Jennings Fourth Grade Teacher Wacoochee, Alabama
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The Courage to Teach Reading Differently

Carla Stanford was a standout elementary school teacher who, 15 years into her career, came to the hard realization that her training had not been rooted in cognitive research – and that she could have done even better for her students. "I kept thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? I have been teaching reading wrong all this time?'" she says. Ms. Stanford, now the director of instructional design for Reading Universe, shares her story in the hopes of encouraging more teachers to make the change to research-based practices.

Carla Stanford standing at an easel in classroom with students.
Carla Stanford works with a group of students while coaching at La Verne Heights Elementary School in California. Photo by Ming Lai

Let’s Be in Touch!

Reading Universe is committed to understanding teachers’ needs. We’d love to hear your feedback, inquiries, and stories!

  • Three teachers working together after school.
    Photo by: Ming Lai

    Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College

    More than 230,000 people have joined this Facebook group (opens in new window) aimed at sharing resources and experiences on the science of reading. Sign up with a Facebook account to access the posts. And please help spread the word about Reading Universe if you join!

  • Two teachers working together on professional development.
    Photo by: Ming Lai

    Science of Reading Hub for Professional Development

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Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (opens in new window); the AFT (opens in new window); the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (opens in new window); and three anonymous donors.