The Importance of Intervention in Education

This is LinkedIn, where people talk #business —so let’s talk #business. The latest NAEP scores just dropped, and they ain't great. If you think this is just an education problem, think again. This is a workforce problem. An economic problem. A business sustainability problem. Only 67% of eighth graders and 60% of fourth graders can read at a basic level. Let me translate: A nation of students who can’t read is a nation of workers who can’t lead. Productivity? Drops when future employees lack fundamental literacy and problem-solving skills. Workforce readiness? Weakens when students who "graduate" still struggle with comprehension and critical thinking. Innovation? Stalls when reading—the foundation of lifelong learning—becomes an obstacle instead of a tool. Companies are already struggling to hire skilled workers. The talent pipeline isn’t just shrinking—it’s deteriorating. And the gap is widening. The highest-performing students are improving, while the lowest-performing students are falling even further behind. If we don’t address this now, we’re looking at a future where: 1) Workforce training costs skyrocket because new hires lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. 2) Economic growth slows as innovation and problem-solving decline. 3) Income inequality worsens as students who struggled to read in 4th grade struggle to earn a living in adulthood. The solution? Investing in real academic interventions—structured, high-impact tutoring that ensures students don’t just get by, but actually learn. Because if students can’t read, they can’t learn. And if they can’t learn, they can’t build the future workforce America needs. The question isn’t if we can afford to fix this—it’s how much it’ll cost us if we don’t. #EducationCrisis #WorkforceDevelopment #NAEP #FutureOfWork #EdTech #HighImpactTutoring #EdTech #GDP #Assessment

We’ve long known that Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, can impair executive functioning and get in the way of our kids’ ability to learn, but new national data show another way that ACEs can interfere with learning - by increasing the risk of chronic medical absences. A recent study published in Academic Pediatrics found that kids with just one ACE were significantly more likely to miss school due to health reasons. The odds of chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the school year) were more than doubled. That’s not just a missed day here or there. That’s illness or injury keeping kids away from classrooms, peers, and learning for significant periods during critical years for development. This study confirms what many of us see in practice: the impact of ACEs on children’s health outcomes is inextricably linked to educational outcomes. But what’s also clear from the science of ACEs and toxic stress is that early detection and early intervention improves outcomes. Routine screening to enable early detection and intervention, strong school-health partnerships, and trauma-informed care can make a real difference! Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/g7vSRAuK

We hear so much about “culture” and “belonging” in schools, and while these are important, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: how can students feel like they belong if they can’t even read? 🐘📚 It’s not just about academics. Reading is the gateway to opportunity, independence, and dignity. Yet, we have students in 4th grade who can’t decode a simple CVC word like “cat.” We have high schoolers reading at a 1st-grade level—or not at all. We have students graduating and entering the adult world unable to functionally read a job application, a lease, or a voter ballot. 📝🏠🗳️ When kids leave school without this foundational skill, the consequences are devastating: 💔 Higher rates of poverty, incarceration, and homelessness. 🚫 Fewer opportunities for stable employment. 🌍 A lifetime of disconnection from the community and society. Let’s be honest: A student who can’t read doesn’t need a pep rally or a spirit week to feel like they belong—they need the tools to unlock their potential. 🔑✨ If they can’t read, they’re excluded from fully participating in their education, their community, and their future. The root of this crisis is systemic. Many schools still use ineffective methods to teach reading, ignoring the overwhelming evidence supporting structured literacy and the science of reading. 🧠📖 Early intervention and evidence-based practices are often sidelined in favor of quick fixes or misplaced priorities. If we truly care about culture and belonging in schools, we need to focus on literacy as the foundation. Reading is empowerment. It’s how students find their voice, engage with the world, and build a sense of self-worth. 🌟🌎💬 We can change this. We must change this: 📚 Prioritize structured literacy in every classroom. 🥇Have a Tier 1 model for all classrooms in your school. 🛠️ Equip teachers with the knowledge and tools to teach reading effectively. ⏰ Intervene early and provide ongoing support for struggling readers. Belonging starts with access. 🌈 Culture starts with connection. 🤝 And it all starts with literacy. Ask the students who can’t read yet—they’ll tell you what they really need. #LiteracyMatters #ScienceOfReading #EducationReform #EquityInEducation #StructuredLiteracy

“Holistic Learning Interventions”: Education and talent leaders: you should integrate traditional learning experiences together with meta-learning (resilience, perspective taking, self-assessment, and more). I call these “holistic learning interventions” and research shows that they improve outcomes more than either alone. A new study developed “an integrated [executive function] and mathematics intervention” which was applied to “193 four-year-olds”. The kids that received the holistic learning intervention “improved more than the control group in overall numeracy” and they “showed greater interconnectedness” between executive function and math by generalizing their improved control to new math experiences. https://lnkd.in/gigMgyEN Unsurprisingly, “disadvantaged children” showed “greater gains” as they started with a lower foundation in meta-learning and executive function in particular. Without taking time away from traditional learning, holistic learning interventions give us a generation ready for a future where facts are free but creativity is priceless. Read more in https://lnkd.in/gNHZXDJn.

Did you know that research has shown that children from lower-income families often have a thinner cortex, affecting areas critical for language and cognitive abilities? This can lead to poorer cognitive performance and reduced brain volumes compared to children from higher-income families. These same children are also less likely to receive early intervention services giving them poorer educational outcomes and opportunities. Early intervention can significantly improve brain development and intellectual achievement. Early intervention is available under federal law in every state and is often covered in full. I like to tell my team that by providing services early we can change lives and futures. We are setting our charges up for better long-term outcomes in terms of educational achievement and overall life opportunities. What we are doing is changing the world one little one at a time. That's huge.