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.
