Happy fall! We hope you had a successful start to the school year.

This fall, the NJTSS-ER support team will be working alongside the NJDOE Learning Equity and Academic Recovery (LEAR) office to provide coaching to 37 districts through the Building Responsive Instruction through Data-Guided Evaluation (BRIDGE) grant. We look forward to supporting 20 districts in their first year of implementation and continuing with 17 Districts in their second year of using evidence-based data protocols to inform Tier 1 instruction.

We are pleased to report that 13 districts recently completed 3 years of working alongside our NJTSS-ER support team. Data trends from Cohort 5 school districts have been highly promising. For example, over the past 2.5 years, performance on Nonsense Word Fluency-Correct Letter Sounds, a measure of phonics and decoding skills, increased by 28% across participating districts. We look forward to sharing more data and hearing from the districts who engaged with the NJTSS-ER Framework to improve literacy instruction across their schools.

Todd Glover, Ph.D.

Director of Professional Development, NJTSS-ER

NJTSS-ER Support Team in Action

This summer, our team presented at the IMPACT Summit in Delsea, NJ, and attended the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Program Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Across both events, we had the opportunity to connect with educators, researchers, and educational leaders from around the country to share what we are learning through the development and implementation of ReadyCoach and hear how others are thinking about the intersection of data, literacy instruction, coaching, and artificial intelligence.

This October, our team presented at the NJPSA Conference and hosted an information table at the NJIDA Conference.

These conversations provided valuable opportunities to showcase the work underway through our grant-funded efforts while also learning from others who are exploring innovative ways to support educators and improve outcomes for students.

IMPACT Summit

OSEP Conference

NJPSA Conference

Our Team Behind the Scenes

The Foundational Knowledge in Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction online learning series offers educators across New Jersey opportunities to strengthen their understanding of evidence-based practices in early literacy. The series includes modules in six critical areas: Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, and the Reading-Writing Connection. Each module is designed to build foundational knowledge and support educators in applying evidence-based literacy practices to improve reading instruction and student outcomes.

Developed through a partnership among the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Office of Special Education, Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery, and Rutgers University, the learning series is part of the Reading Acceleration Professional Integrated Development (RAPID) initiative. These resources expand access to professional learning designed to support educators in strengthening literacy instruction and meeting the diverse needs of students across the state. These courses can be found on our website.

Meet Our Regional Coaches

Our regional coaches will be working with districts in the BRIDGE Cohort 2 and STRONG-ER learning opportunities.

Regional coaches completed five training sessions with our state consultative coaches throughout the 2025-26 school year, and are continuing training throughout the 26-27 school year to prepare to work with schools and districts to support NJTSS-ER framework implementation.

Looking Ahead

Save the date for the following events. Keep an eye on the events page of our website for more information and registration.

Rutgers Center for Literacy Development: Speaker Series

Topic: MTSS: Using Assessments to Plan and Organize Targeted Instruction for Students in Tier 1, Tier 2,and Tier 3

December 9, 2026

Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ

NJPSA Literacy Summit

January 29, 2027

NJPSA/FEA - Monroe, NJ

From Our Partners at the NJDOE

The NJDOE recently updated its website for a streamlined experience. In addition, two new resources have been added:

The LEARning about Literacy Hub for educators - an evidence-based literacy resources hub. Educators can search by grade band, content category, and Simple View of Reading component.

The LEARning about Literacy Family Series is a series of sessions to help families learn about how children learn how to read. The series can be presented at parent workshops, literacy nights, and more. The resources include pre-recorded videos, facilitation guides, slide decks, and more.

Per the August 19 NJDOE Broadcast, the LEAR Office gave updated guidance for districts to administer universal screeners three times per school year. Additional information in the September 16 broadcast gives information about data submission and vendor reporting for districts.

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