The smartest person in the room is never as smart as all of the people in the room.
—John Maxwell
Join Our Free Community!
Choice Literacy has been around since 2006. Back then, skinny jeans were starting to edge out bootcut jeans, the Beyblade craze was at its peak, Myspace ruled social media, Grey’s Anatomy had everyone hooked, and the Nintendo Wii was the ultimate must-have. A lot has changed since then—but some things remain the same, like our need to connect, learn, and grow alongside people who get it.
Since 2019, Choice Literacy has found a home with The Lead Learners, an Indiana nonprofit helping instructional influencers build the skills and confidence to lead change in schools. Choice Literacy contributors come from all over the United States, and our readers are worldwide.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to create a consistent space for online learning and professional friendships that aren’t limited by geography. I believe the old adage that the smartest person in the room is the room—and I’ve been figuring out how to bring all of us into that room together.
My quest has been to create “a room” that allows educators—and just as smart, funny, and deeply invested in real teaching and learning as you are—to connect and collaborate. This is the heart of Choice Literacy: learning from practicing educators.
To make this accessible to everyone, we’ve developed a free community—The Lead Learners Community. Here, you can connect, collaborate, and grow without leaving your school.
September’s focus is on the power of connection as the foundation of leadership. By investing in relationships, we create the trust and support that allow real growth to flourish. Inside the community, you’ll find
- Coach-to-Coach: short, live monthly sessions with peers plus recordings if you miss them,
- a curated selection of articles and videos from Choice Literacy,
- prompts and ideas for your professional notebook or journal, and
- easy networking with educators in similar roles.
Join The Lead Learners Community and move from feeling uncertain or isolated to confident, connected, and joyful in your work as a change maker. The week we nourish the love of reading—plus more, as always.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share their favorite strategies for building a classroom community of readers where everyone has several options for choosing their next book.
Lisa Mazinas reminds us of the importance of independent reading and how to set it in motion.
Stephanie Farley shares the value of student choice in reading and how to teach necessary skills without a shared text.
Wondrous Words: Reimagining Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom (NCTE, 2025) has been released! Katie Wood Ray and Stella Villalba have lovingly revised this masterpiece about teaching writers. Make sure to check out the book website to find free videos of Katie and Stella working with students.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Even as the pressure to add more whole-class reads and articles with focused reading lessons closes in around us with pressure from administrators and school boards, Tara Barnett and Kate Mills are committed to finding ways to get books into students’ hands and show how much they value reading. Here are some of their best tips for keeping the choice in reading—as well as the love of reading—alive.
Gretchen Schroeder makes a case for independent reading to administrators, families, and her high school students. Gretchen offers notebook entries, scholarly articles, and whole-class activities to help everyone know the benefits of consistent, daily independent reading.
VIDEO | Mandy Robek shares the purpose and design of her whole-class meeting space.
VIDEO | Gwen Blumberg offers ways to make the library a welcoming space for readers to settle in with their choice of books. Classroom teachers can consider creating a living room, too.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Gigi McAlister knows the power of a library. As a young child she wasn’t a reader (yet), but there was so much to do at the library, she still felt like she belonged. Here she shares several ways to help all students feel like they belong in the school library.
Matt Renwick opens his own coaching notebook and teaches school leaders ways to support teaching and learning through structured note-taking. The coach’s notebook is not art; it is a tool that supports your practice.
Teacher Educators Teach | Suzy Kaback was inspired to use play as a tool—one that can reframe routine, refocus attention, and give both teachers and students a fresh lens.
Quote It:
Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
—Kate DiCamillo
That’s all for this week!
