Renaissance Blog

Shareable tips and insightful thoughts on K–12 education.

In response to: Misunderstanding student reading levels

April 27, 2026
Let me begin with a straightforward statement: Students’ independent reading is quite different from their instructional reading. One is undertaken alone while the other occurs under the guidance, scaffolding, and support of a teacher. I begin with this point because [...]
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Solving education’s coherence problem: Insights for school and district leaders

March 24, 2026
Instructional coherence in education has a lot in common with the concept of harmony. Even without formal musical training, we all perceive harmony. Similarly, we also perceive its opposite, dissonance— when musical notes seem to [...]
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Motivating student reading practice: AR quiz writers’ favorite childhood books

February 9, 2026
Since its launch in 1986, Accelerated Reader has helped millions of students to fall in love with books and reading. AR has also changed how technology is used in classrooms around the world, showing that personalized book recommendations [...]
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In education, what’s the real difference between one AI-based tool and another?

December 3, 2025
It’s notable when a company is so pioneering or dominant within a market that the name of the company or its product becomes synonymous with an entire category. For some people, all photocopiers are “Xerox machines.” Similarly, if we’re asked [...]
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Seeing the whole child: Strengthening MTSS for multilingual learners

November 19, 2025
As educators, we want to create environments where every student is seen, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive. But when we rely solely on numbers, charts, and test scores, we risk overlooking the full story, especially for multilingual and [...]
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AI and the best use of technology in K–12 education

September 22, 2025
The pace of technological change continues to accelerate. Believe it or not, the first computer I used loaded programs through a cassette drive. Then came the days when computing power was tied to your device’s processor (286, Pentium, etc.). With [...]
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Unlocking literacy: The power of hi-lo books for striving readers

August 21, 2025
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) paints an alarming picture of student reading, with just 31 percent of fourth graders and 30 percent of eighth graders performing at or above NAEP proficiency. The data [...]
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Inspiring math confidence in education: 3 strategies for success

July 22, 2025
In the 1970s, the audio recording company Memorex created one of the most famous advertisements in history. Ella Fitzgerald, known as the First Lady of Song, stepped up to the microphone and delivered a masterclass in sound. She ended with [...]
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Ensuring successful reading and math intervention in MTSS

June 10, 2025
The goal of intervention is to accelerate K‒12 student learning. In schools across the country, teams gather regularly to discuss intervention data. Educators pull up progress monitoring graphs, review each student’s trajectory, and consider next steps. This individualized approach, [...]
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