out today! next up: Troubling the Dark: Unbounded Literacy Development for our nation’s children and teens.

In Colorado, we have more than 45,000 multilingual learners in grades 4-8 journeying toward English and reading proficiency/advanced reading. However, their stories are missing in the research. The Literacy Research Center and Clinic MSU Denver will work to capture their stories.

Launched this month! We are excited about the future of literacy research in Colorado to improve literacy outcomes for elementary and high school students.

Does your child struggle with reading? Not sure? The Literacy Research Center and Clinic is offering free reading screenings this month on Tuesdays (4pm - 6:30pm) and Saturdays (10am - 1:30pm) at Paris Elementary - 1635 Paris Street, Aurora, CO. Sign up at msudenver.edu/education/lite…

It's not just about their literacy development; it's about their lives. - A.W. Tatum This was my message to Massachusetts and Connecticut educational leaders this week. MSU Denver

We continue to justify slow-walking kids to failure in the United States. This is cementing an unnatural literacy hierarchy. Leveled texts continue to level lives. A.W. Tatum

Literacy Research Center and Clinic to tackle Colorado’s learning crisis  - Early Bird early-bird.msudenver.edu/literacy-resea…

Spending part of my Saturday in the Aurora, CO community talking to a grandmother about her grandchild’s reading was the highlight of my day. MSU Denver msudenver.edu/education/lite…

Reading and reflecting on 5lbs of essays - old and new - this month. (Reading writings from around the world will make clear that assaults on diversity are foolish). #humanities

On English as the official language in the U.S. - “Who possesses a language, and why? Is it a question of lineage? Mastery? Use? Attachment? What does it mean, in the end, to belong to a language?” - Jhumpa Lahiri

A great essay for bilingual teachers or those teaching MLLs.

“I really want to know how to read better.” 8-year-old Colorado girl. Beyond the data, reading is personal. Not being able to read is painful. -AWT

"We didn't read books by Black people in Black A** Mississippi." by Laymon stood out because a teacher told me "you don't understand, I teach black boys in Clarksdale, MS" after I said the boys must be moved toward advanced levels of reading. youtu.be/PvYe-zM2KoY?si… via YouTube

Troubling the Dark: Un(bounded) Black Male Literacy Development - Submitted to Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice. On to the next one as I prepare for my annual Literacy and Land Institute in Illinois.

Reading great essays at night causes insomnia. I want our nation’s children to experience this kind of insomnia. AWT

Literacy acts that defy existing hierarchies are needed. - AWT

I have been speaking and penning essays about reading cocktails or great mixtures. Educators and researchers interested in educating Black children and shattering hierarchies should read a Jarvis-Love-Milner cocktail. Rich Milner Jarvis R. Givens #bettinalove

“We have not figured out how to move students to read at advanced levels or exceed state and national expectations. It is taboo to talk about the highest levels of reading and writing in this nation." red.msudenver.edu/2025/more-than…

Literacy hierarchies, like racial hierarchies, are socially constructed. AWT (From my book in progress)