WE HELP SCHOOLS REACH THEIR LITERACY POTENTIAL

About Us

We have worked to raise students literacy skills for years, as educators, researchers, and instructional leaders.

Who we are and how we got here

Our Story

Joshua Lawrence and Jacy Ippolito started collaborating ten years ago when they were both working as literacy coaches and researchers in the Boston area. They were approached by the Massachusetts Department of Education to develop a set of materials to support adolescent literacy across the Commonwealth. These materials became the basis for a series of professional development workshops that they offered, which grew into ongoing collaborations with schools across the state, including Brookline, Acton, and Newburyport public schools, among many others. This work has now formed the basis for Reading Ways, a new endeavor —led by Josh Lawrence. Reading Ways works with schools nationwide to grow a network of expert coaches and literacy instructional leaders. Contact Reading Ways at contact@readingways.org for more information.

Our Mission

To ensure high quality literacy instruction in on content areas

We believe that all students should leave secondary school able to use reading and writing to participate effectively in society in a variety of roles, be it as a private individual, citizen, or employees.

Our Goals

To improve reading scores and create a new generation of pupils able and willing to critically engage with texts in digital environments.

To create and sustain a community of teachers who reflect deeply on their practice and push one another to improve it.

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To embed high-quality research based pedagogical tools in schools and classrooms, and to work with teachers to adopt them.

To use a research-based model of higher-order thinking that aligns the instructional mission of teachers across content areas.

Meet the team

Leadership Team

Josh Lawrence

Principle Researcher & CEO

Josh Lawrence is currently a Professor at the University of Oslo in the Faculty of Educational Sciences. Since deploying an open-source PHP bulletin board to host “writers' workshops” in middle school classrooms (Fahey, Lawrence, & Paratore, 2007), he has been using online collaborative tools to support teaching and learning. He completed a three-year postdoc at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During his time there he worked with Catherine Snow and the SERP institute to conduct an evaluation of the Word Generation curriculum. He was subsequently hired in the Language, Literacy and Technology Specialization at the University of California, Irvine School of Education where he published extensively on secondary literacy interventions, literacy and second language development, and technology. He is the lead developer of the OASIS PD Model and creator of Reading Ways. He is also currently the CEO of Reading Ways, a member of the Board of Directors, and the Chair of the Research Advisory Board. You can find out more about his research at http://readingresearch.info/.

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Selected grant funding

Improving the Accuracy of Academic Vocabulary Assessment for English Language Learners, $1,600,000. (David Francis, PI). Role: Co-PI. US Department of Education, IES Goal 3, #R305A120045.
Randomized Trial of the Word Generation Program, $2,853,517. (Catherine Snow, PI). Role: Coordinator.US Department of Education, IES Goal 3, # R305A090555. 2009 – 2013.

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Selected publications

Academic research site http://readingresearch.info/
Lawrence, J.F., Knoph, R., McIlraith, A., Kulesz, P., & Francis, D. (in press). Reading Comprehension and Academic Vocabulary: Exploring Relations of Item Features and Reading Proficiency. Reading Research Quarterly.
Hagen, Å, Knoph, R., Hjetland, H.N., Rogde, K., Lawrence, J.F., Lervåg, A., Melby-Lervåg, M. (in press). Measuring Listening Comprehension and Predicting Language Development in At-Risk Preschoolers Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research (CSJE). https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1939136 .
Lawrence, J. F., Hagen, Å.M., Hwang, J.K., Lin, G., & Lervåg, A. (2019). Academic vocabulary and reading comprehension: exploring the relationships across measures of vocabularyknowledge. Reading and Writing. https://rdcu.be/OzX9
Taylor, K. S., Lawrence, J. F., Connor, C. M., & Snow, C. E. (2018). Cognitive and linguistic features of adolescent argumentative writing: Do connectives signal more complex reasoning?Reading and Writing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9898 Argumentative Organizer
†Hwang, J. K., Lawrence, J. F., & Snow, C. E. (2017). Defying expectations: Vocabulary growth trajectories of high performing language minority students. Reading and Writing, 30(4), 829–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-016-9703-3 (online first edition)
‍ Lawrence, J. F., Francis, D., Paré-Blagoev, E.J., & Snow, C. E. (2017). The Poor Get Richer: Heterogeneity in the Efficacy of a School-Level Intervention for Academic Language. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 10(4), 767–793. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2016.1237596 (online first edition)
‍† Hwang, J. K., Lawrence, J. F., Collins, P., & Snow, C. (2017). Vocabulary and reading performances of redesignated fluent English proficient students. TESOL Quarterly, 51(4), 757–786. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.346
‍† Lin, A.R., Lawrence, J.F., Snow, C.E., & † Taylor, K. (2016). Assessing adolescents’ communicative self-efficacy to discuss controversial issues: Findings from a randomized study of the Word Generation program. Theory and Research in Social Education, 44(3), 316-343 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2016.1203852
‍Lawrence, J. F., ‡ Niiya, M., & Warschauer, M. (2016). Narrative writing in digital formats: Interpreting the impact of audience. Psychology of Language and Communication, 20(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/plc-2015-0012

Jenny Michelle Thorbjørnsen

Product Manager

Jenny Michelle Thorbjørnsen recently graduated from the Department of Education at the University of Oslo with a Masters's degree in Comparative Education and a thesis on Literacy Plans. Before joining Reading Ways, she served as a substitute teacher at several high schools in Oslo and as a research assistant for Joshua Lawrence on two projects: Understanding Teachers as Designers and Critical Thinking in Middle Schools. Behind the scenes at Reading Ways, Jenny employs her understanding of technology, design, and pedagogy to deliver creative and strategic solutions.

"I appreciate the way the rest of the Reading Ways team focuses on student’s needs even when working on national or other levels that are more removed from the students. At the end of the day, our goal is to ensure that students are prepared to meet a world in flux - a goal I will continue to work hard towards achieving." - Jenny Michelle

Selected grant funding

Selected publications

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Lawrence, J. & Thorbjørnsen, J. (In press) Å utvikle elevers kritiske tenkning gjennom lesing, argumentasjon og debatt. In Bråten, I. (Ed.) Leseforståelse. Oslo: Cappelen Damm akademisk.
Thorbjørnsen (2020) European Perspectives on Local Literacy Plans. [Master Thesis]. https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/80469

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Erin Kourafas

Client Engagement Executive

Erin Kourafas has years of experience working with students with disabilities at the secondary and university level. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts of Boston with a Masters degree in Education she transitioned from teaching special education to working with the same population at the university level, most notably establishing a partnership program at Salem State University that offered transition-age students currently enrolled in their high schools a college experience. After moving to Norway, she was eager to remain in the educational field and is delighted to be continuing her work in education. Although a slightly different venture from her past, it fits well with her personal mission to offer support to every student in reading, writing, speaking, and learning across content areas through the building of instructional leadership and disciplinary literacy in schools.

Selected grant funding

Selected publications

John Fahey

Director of Business Development

John Fahey is our Director of Business Development and has an extensive background in sales and marketing from the technology industry. John has also held a variety of positions in non-profit organizations and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Starr-King School for Ministry from the University of California, Berkeley. John is currently a student at the Claremont Graduate University and is an active member of the Claremont Institute for Process Studies.

Selected grant funding

Selected publications

Technical Staff

Maria Ferreia

Web Assistant

Maria Ferreira is studying architecture at Instituto Superior Técnico, part of University of Lisbon, Portugal. She is currently working on her thesis and is taking on part-time, freelance jobs related to marketing and design. After winning one of Reading Ways’ design contests, she has been part of its team, working as a web assistant that focuses on designing resources, website management and video production.

Quanah Lawrence

User Experience Designer

Quanah Lawrence graduated from York University with a Film Production BFA. She specializes in editing and post production work and is excited to bring these skills to the Reading Ways team. The unique and impactful work at Reading Ways appeals to her interest in education which has been fostered in her family by generations of educators. While she focuses on video production, she enjoys the many opportunities Reading Ways provides to work in a variety of fields, including resource development, research, and customer success.

WE HELP SCHOOLS REACH THEIR LITERACY POTENTIAL

About Us

We have worked to raise students literacy skills for years, as educators, researchers, and instructional leaders.

Who we are and how we got here

Our Story

Our Mission

To ensure high quality literacy instruction in on content areas

Our Goals

Meet the team

Leadership Team

Josh Lawrence

Jenny Michelle Thorbjørnsen

Erin Kourafas

John Fahey

Technical Staff

Maria Ferreia

Quanah Lawrence

Advisory Board

The Research Advisory Board provides insight into matters relating to instructional practice, adolescent literacy, child development, and academic language. The board meets at least once a year and is chaired by Josh Lawrence, Reading Ways founder.

SARAH LUPO

JACY IPPOLITO