Why Implementation Is the Real Literacy Challenge

We don’t talk enough about how hard it is to actually implement things in schools.

Not because teachers and leaders don’t care. Quite the opposite—they care deeply. But with constant demands, shifting mandates, and limited capacity, even the best ideas for improving literacy can become one more thing added to an already overflowing plate.

The reality is, schools are juggling a thousand variables at once: chronic absenteeism, mid-year assessments, teacher vacancies, new state requirements, and the day-to-day unpredictability of working with kids. It’s no wonder that managing implementation—especially for something as complex as a literacy initiative—can fall through the cracks.

Yet research continues to reinforce what we already know: high-quality literacy instruction, grounded in reading science, does move the needle. A strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that includes regular data reviews, differentiated instruction, and responsive student groupings does improve outcomes. But these systems require coordination, consistency, and time—resources that many educators simply don’t have enough of.

This is the tension many school teams find themselves in: knowing what needs to happen but lacking the bandwidth to do it well.

That’s where tools like Adira Reads come in—not to replace teachers, but to support them. The system was designed with one goal in mind: to make high-quality implementation more doable. It handles the backend work of data analysis, skill tracking, and student regrouping—so educators can focus their time and energy on what matters most: teaching.

No system will ever eliminate the challenges of real classrooms. But we can build tools that honor educators’ time, center student growth, and help schools bring great ideas to life—not just on paper, but in practice.