Science of Reading professional development and coaching
Sterling Literacy Consulting helps schools and districts nationwide connect Science of Reading professional learning with classroom coaching, feedback and support between visits.
Professional learning shaped around your team
What are teachers working on? Where do they need more support? Those questions help us plan the learning with you.
Professional learning topics include:
Science of Reading foundations and structured literacy
Foundational reading skills
Vocabulary, fluency and comprehension
Assessment literacy and using student data
Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)
Literacy leadership
We work with teachers, instructional coaches and school and district leaders. The focus depends on your priorities and context.
Put the learning into practice
Sterling Literacy provides curriculum-agnostic coaching, working with the instructional materials your teachers use. Coaches help unpack units and lessons, plan instruction, model teaching and co-teach. Lesson observations, video reflection and post-lesson debriefs give teachers specific opportunities to examine their practice.
We connect knowledge building with practice, observations and feedback. Student data and educators’ feedback help shape the next cycle of work. Resources can also support continued learning between visits.
Virtual coaching for teachers and coaches
Sterling Literacy’s virtual coaching cycles connect goal setting and planning with recorded observations, video reflection and a post-conference to identify next steps.
Teachers focus on classroom instruction. Coaches can examine feedback conversations, PLC meetings, demonstration lessons or collaborative planning.
Coach-the-coach support
Our kindergarten through grade 5 coach-the-coach model helps literacy coaches practice modeling instruction, co-planning lessons, providing feedback and leading data-informed conversations. Sterling Literacy consultants model the work and support coaches as they try it themselves.
Support across grade levels
Sterling Literacy’s broader literacy work spans birth through grade 12. We plan support around the educators and learners in your setting.
Early childhood and elementary literacy
Our professional learning offerings include early childhood literacy, foundational skills, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. For teams serving kindergarten through grade 3 and the upper elementary grades, we discuss which areas of instruction need attention and plan from there.
Adolescent and disciplinary literacy
For educators working with older students, Sterling Literacy also offers support with vocabulary, comprehension, writing to learn and literacy across subjects.
Explore all literacy consulting services
How we work with you
The Sterling Literacy Consulting team starts by listening to your educators and looking at classroom instruction. From there, we can connect professional learning with classroom observations, coaching and feedback, adjusting the work as we learn together.
Understand the starting point. We hear from leaders and teachers, observe classrooms and consider student data.
Plan professional learning and coaching. Together, we identify the focus of the work and the support needed to put it into practice.
Review and adjust. We use feedback, observations and student data to decide what comes next.
Frequently asked questions about professional learning and coaching
Can professional development include follow-up coaching?
Yes. Professional learning and job-embedded coaching can be planned together. The combination depends on the needs identified with your team.
Can you support teachers using a curriculum we already have?
Sterling Literacy offers curriculum-based professional learning and coaching. We can discuss your materials, implementation priorities and the support your teachers need.
Do you work outside Colorado?
Yes. Sterling Literacy works with schools and districts nationwide.
What should we share when we contact you?
Tell us which grades you serve, what your team is working on and where teachers or leaders need support. That gives us a starting point for the conversation.