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.
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.
Shannon Bosley, Ed.D., is a 25-year K-12 educational veteran who has served as a middle language arts teacher, school librarian, instructional coach, district technology and curriculum coordinator, and educational consultant. She earned her doctorate in Leadership Studies at Xavier University where she studied reading engagement and leadership effectiveness for school principals. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences. Her research project examines the Sustainable Coaching and Adaptive Learning for Education (SCALE) model that Reading Ways uses to bring research-based practices to classrooms nationally. Shannon is passionate about promoting adolescent literacy and continues to research reading engagement and motivation for both adolescents and adults.
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.
Josh Lawrence is a Professor at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Educational Sciences where he teaches quantitative research methods. As the co-founder of Reading Ways, he brings his expertise as a coach and experience with hybrid learning to the organization's innovative professional learning model. In his role as the Chair of the Research Advisory Board, Josh has played a crucial role in shaping the company's current courses and research-based approaches, as well as guiding the development of the resource library. More at www.joshualawrence.com.
John Fahey is our President and Director of Business Development. John has an extensive background in translating customer needs to large technical teams and scaling technology businesses. John has a long-standing commitment to service and has held a variety of positions in non-profit organizations. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Starr-King School for Ministry from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently a student at the Claremont Graduate University and is an active member of the Claremont Institute for Process Studies.
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 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.
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.
Dr. Townsend’s research centers on the academic language development of adolescent students, with specific attention to academic vocabulary, comprehension, and disciplinary literacy. She examines both the unique academic language demands of the disciplines and effective instructional strategies to help students understand and use academic language in and across academic disciplines. Her current project, funded by the Spencer Foundation, is an intervention study comparing how different types of background knowledge and academic vocabulary scaffolding impact the reading comprehension of multilingual adolescents. Dr. Townsend’s work has been published in Reading Research Quarterly, The Elementary School Journal, The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and Topics in Language Disorders, as well as in other journals and multiple books.
Journal Publications, Refereed (*student co-authors)
Books
Research Handbook Chapters
Book Chapters
Other Professional, Non-Refereed Publications
Works in Progress
Dr. Sarah Lupo is an Assistant Professor in the Early, Elementary, and Literacy Department at James Madison University. She has extensive teaching experience as an ESL teacher, English teacher, reading specialist, and literacy coach in grades K-12 in Washington D.C., Istanbul, Turkey, Phoenix, AZ, and Charlottesville, VA. Dr. Lupo’s has published dozens of articles and chapters in publications such as Reading Research Quarterly, Reading Teacher, Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy, and Literacy Today. Her research focuses on exploring the influence of various aspects of text complexity on readers’ comprehension, such as knowledge, and how instruction can be differentiated to support all readers’ understanding of challenging texts across the content areas. Her work strives to position all learners’ as capable and bringing cultural and linguistic assets to the reading experience. Dr. Lupo strives to put theory into practice to find practical ways teachers can improve comprehension for K-12 students in order to enhance literacy instruction for all students, especially those from nondominant backgrounds.
Jacy completed his doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on literacy coaching and school reform. He is a national leader in coaching and professional learning. He has published over a dozen articles on coaching and school leadership, written or edited five books on adolescent literacy or instructional leadership, and currently co-directs the Educational Leadership program at Salem State University, where he has also served as department chair. Jacy advises Reading Ways on matters related to coaching and professional learning.
