Bay State Reading Institute

the bay state reading institute was founded in 2005 to help high-poverty massachusetts elementary schools move their students to very high levels of performance. in 2010 we were awarded a us department of education invest in innovation grant; we now partner with 42 elementary schools all across the state. although "reading" is in our name, we work on whole school change; our students have made gains not only in reading but also in math. our program is based on helping teachers set high standards and then to differentiate instruction so every child is challenged all-day long at her level. we also help principals become strong educational leaders and we help principals and teachers use data to drive instruction. a key part of our program is having students working together, asking each other questions, looking for evidence, finding the main idea, and debating each other - the same kinds of activity so important in the common core. most of our schools have made dramatic gains, with studen