Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works Lessons from the Southern Surge with Karen Vaites
Dec 24, 2025
Karen Vaites, an education entrepreneur and advocate for effective literacy and math teaching, shares insights on the Southern Surge in literacy improvements across states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. She discusses the four pillars driving these gains: training, screening, curriculum, and third-grade retention. Vaites contrasts different state models of reform and emphasizes the importance of execution over legislation. She also critiques teacher preparation programs and proposes a national database for curriculum analysis, aiming to raise educational outcomes.
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A Four-State Reading Surge
- Four Southern states (Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama) show replicable reading gains after layered reforms.
- Their shared playbook centers on teacher training, K–3 screening, curriculum improvement, and third-grade retention.
Adopt The Full Layered Package
- Implement the full package: teacher training, K–3 screening, better curriculum, and targeted retention.
- Treat the four pillars as a mutually reinforcing set rather than isolated reforms.
Mississippi's Bottom‑20% Focus Went Viral
- Mississippi began in 2013 focusing intensive support on the bottom 20% of schools with state coaches and subsidized training.
- Success in those schools created a viral demand across districts for the same teacher training.