In this episode, host Susan Lambert is joined by Lacey Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of UnboundEd. Robinson opens the podcast by telling her personal story of learning to read, discussing those who influenced her, and sharing how literacy empowered her to pursue education reform. 

Robinson emphasizes the responsibility that educational practitioners and leaders have to dismantle and eliminate all barriers to education. She helps to define equity and equitable instruction and describes the literacy experiences of Black students, stressing how an understanding of history is essential to moving forward and not repeating past mistakes. Lastly, Robinson outlines what productive struggle should look like in the classroom, encouraging educators to embrace their students’ local, cultural, linguistic, and historical context to enable more rigorous reading opportunities. Listen now.


Quotes:
“Not everybody has to love to read. Everybody deserves the right to read."
— Lacey Robinson

“I would lose myself in books. I would wrap myself up in characters and lands and places. My mother told me that day that once they taught me how to read, nobody would ever be able to take that away.” —Lacey Robinson

Show notes: 

GLEAM instruction

UnboundEd

Estimated timestamps*
1:00: Introduction: Who is Lacey Robinson?
10:00: Lacey Robinson's work at UnboundEd
18:00: Anti-bias toolkit
21:00: DEI and the Science of Reading
34:00: Equity at the center of design
38:00: Overcoming fear and shame
40:00: Gleam instructional framework
48:00: Rigorous and productive instruction
53:00: New things in the works for Lacey Robinson
57:00: Reflections on Lacey's younger self
59:00: Final thoughts
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute