Creative Staffing: Using Structured Interventions To Increase Student Support
Schools can expand reading intervention—even during teacher shortages—by using highly structured, easy‑to‑deliver programs that empower any trained adult to support early literacy. Tools like Sound Partners, Power Readers, and Supercharged Readers provide scripted lessons, clear guidance, and built‑in practice so paraprofessionals, nonreading teachers, volunteers, and families can confidently help students build foundational skills. With the right materials, schools can creatively extend their intervention workforce and ensure students receive consistent, high‑quality support.
As science of reading-aligned practices become more commonplace in schools, administrators and educators are seeing an increase in the use of assessment data to drive instructional decision-making. Using screening and diagnostic assessment data to choose an appropriate reading intervention for a student is a key component of a successful Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework.
But one very real challenge in schools today is the limited quantity of teachers to deliver these reading interventions. From a logistical perspective, teacher shortages across the country make it harder to differentiate student intervention. One way to tackle this challenge is to look at the instructional materials being used in the intervention setting and infuse some creativity into who delivers the intervention. If easy-to-deliver, high-quality intervention materials are being used, administrators can look beyond reading teachers to other untapped staff members to deliver consistent intervention for students. These staff members also can provide opportunities for practice with important literacy skills.
Intervention Support
When other staff members, such as nonreading teachers, paraprofessionals, or volunteers, are being considered to deliver reading interventions, the curricular materials they use must be highly structured with clear directions and language for the adult. Sound Partners, a research-based tutoring program, is an excellent example of an intervention program that is structured, explicit, and user-friendly for any adult to implement. You do not need to be a subject-matter expert to successfully deliver a program like Sound Partners.
In Sound Partners, the adult-facing Tutor Lesson Book includes directions and the exact wording that should be used when delivering each lesson. Images of the corresponding student workbook are included, making delivery very clear and concise. Lessons follow a familiar sequence, building repetition and familiarity for both the adult and student. Built-In Mastery Tests allow for progress monitoring and the included Bob Books allow for authentic decoding practice.
To learn more about Sound Partners, visit: voyagersopris.com/products/reading/sound-partners.
Opportunities for Practice
Another approach for nonreading teachers to support student literacy is to consider the ways other adults in school can provide practice opportunities. Authentic practice in decodable text is an essential component of good phonics instruction. Power Readers and Supercharged Readers are supportive ways to have any adult in the school provide that practice opportunity.
Power Readersand Supercharged Readers meet all of the key requirements of good decodable texts. They follow a Scope and Sequence of phonics skills that builds from easier to more complex. The text in each book is controlled to include many repetitions of the target phonics pattern without including words beyond a student’s decoding ability. And the varied sentence structure and simple illustrations do not encourage guessing of words.
What sets these decodables apart from others is they also include directions and coaching tips at the bottom of each page. This level of support provides nonexperts the guidance they need to successfully support students in their practice of early literacy skills. Power Readers >and Supercharged Readers also include additional practice pages in each book for extra opportunities to engage with key skills. Again, you do not need to be a subject-matter expert to successfully use Power Readers and Supercharged Readers with students.
To learn more about Power Readers and Supercharged Readers, visit voyagersopris.com/decodable-readers
Support at Home
Families often ask their child’s teacher for resources they can use at home to support their early readers. Resources like Sound Partners, Power Readers, and Supercharged Readers are so user-friendly families can easily add them into routines at home. The scripted nature of Sound Partners 30-minute lessons make them easy to deliver at home. And the tips & tricks of Power Readers and Supercharged Readers serve as a natural coach for family members who might feel unsure of their expertise. Programs like these will empower families looking for additional resources for their children.
Teacher shortages are a very real problem facing schools across the country. Creative solutions that allow other support staff and families to support literacy instruction are a viable solution to consider. If adults who lack expertise in reading instruction are an option to work with students, it is important to provide them with structured programs that align to the science of reading. These programs also need to be user-friendly so everyone feels supported and successful. Sound Partners, Power Readers, and Supercharged Readers are exactly those kinds of programs.
