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<div>Hi all— I was on a plane flight the other day and sat next to a young man in his 20s. I asked him why he was traveling (for business) and what he does (he’s a head hunter in the tech realm). He asked me what I do. I explain that I develop new ways to
teach students to learn. For an example, I told him a little about our SIM reading programs. I explained that we can help students make gains of 3 and 4 grade levels in reading by teaching them strategies. He asked how long that process takes. When I said
that it takes about 4 weeks to improve a student’s decoding skills and another 4 weeks to improve comprehension, he said, “This is exactly what my school needs!” He explained that less than 50% of the students in his high school graduate. I explained that
I am frustrated because schools often choose not to adopt our programs, relying on tutoring instead. Then he encouraged me to keep going! He gave me a pep talk! Thus, here I am, encouraging you, too, to keep going!! We just turned our clocks forward one
hour, and spring is almost here. Let’s all set some new goals about what we can do to help more students this spring and summer. Let’s find some new schools and move forward in ambitious ways to provide workshops to new groups of teachers! Thank you so much
for everything you do for the teachers and students in your life!! Jean</div>
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