This episode centers on how the “science of reading” must expand beyond phonics to a broader “literacy science” that spans birth through adolescence, and how systems can better prepare and support teachers so no child learns to read “in spite of” their teacher. Dr. Paige Pullen shares her journey from feeling unprepared as an elementary teacher to leading large-scale professional learning and now launching a startup focused on bridging research to practice across entire district ecosystems. She and host Hayley Spira-Bauer unpack common instructional missteps (like over-relying on 3-cueing and running records), the need for explicit, systematic foundational skills for older struggling readers, and the importance of learning science, instructional science, and literacy science working together. They also examine legislation, district decision-making, and family engagement, emphasizing that reducing stigma for adolescent readers and rejecting teacher shame are essential to ensuring all students gain true literacy, not just early decoding.​