Spring 2026 Newsletter

This question has been all the buzz this past month. In their paper, researchers Jackie E. Relyea, James Kim, Patrick Rich, and Jill Fitzgerald explore how content knowledge building in Tier 1 instruction in science & social studies matters for multilingual learners’ development.

First, it was covered by International Literacy Association in their most recent issue of Literacy Today Magazine.

Then, the Harvard Graduate School of Education also released an article breaking down key takeaways.

This is an extremely interesting question that the team will continue to study.

The latest paper out of READS Lab comes from doctoral candidate Joshua Gilbert and Dr. James Kim, and explores how learning can transfer across domains, such as from reading to math. Read the research here.

Interested in the takeaways, but don’t want to read the whole paper? Stay tuned for the two-pager where we will report on the research in more digestible language!

In the meantime, check out the other two-pagers on our research website.

Dr. Kim, principal investigator of READS Lab, was selected by the American Educational Research Association to join their cohort of 2026 fellows. He will be formally inducted at the 2026 AERA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on April 9th, joining a truly distinguished community of 820 leading education researchers worldwide. Congratulations, Dr. Kim!

This past fall, we began a new partnership with seven different rural school districts across the U.S. as part of our most recent randomized controlled trial (RCT).

They did an amazing job navigating a new program while implementing it with fidelity. We are so proud of everything they accomplished and can’t wait to work with them again during year two!

After over 10 years of rigorous randomized controlled trials involving 8,000+ students in seven school districts, READS Lab is bringing back this highly requested, evidence-based program. A small set of partners will be piloting the new and improved program this summer.

READS for Summer Learning is more than just your typical summer book bundle. This program combines personalized books with book-specific comprehension activities taught by the teacher before the school year ends. But support doesn’t end there! Families get text nudges throughout the summer with literacy tips and tricks. This design not only helps readers to accelerate their literacy knowledge during the summer but also helps build confidence and a lifelong love of reading.

Missed this year’s sign-up? Don’t worry! We are already accepting partners for summer 2027. Submit your interest: RFSL Sign-Up.

Learning Designer, Anna Slavin, was a teacher for a decade. She often wondered: What evidence is good evidence? How do I interpret data? How do I apply it to my classroom? How do I use it to assess the materials supplied by my principal?

In this series, Anna answers all her own questions. She will help you build a schema—a mental framework—for reading and understanding research and combing through data.

If you’re ready to learn how to assess what works, follow us and join Anna in her new series: Research for Teachers 101.

Follow us now! @reads.lab

Join READS Lab director, Ethan Scherer, for an upcoming webinar hosted by the C+M Center at NYU Silver School of Social Work. Ethan and co-panelist Ruopeng An will confront a fear many practitioners already feel: that easy access to AI may be making us quicker, yet shallower, more productive, yet less thoughtful. They will offer practical, evidence-informed ways to push back, so AI supports judgment, learning, and creativity instead of quietly replacing them.

Monday, April 27, 2026, 12:00–1:00 PM EST, on Zoom.

Register now.

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