ARI Region 5

08/18/2026

Sentence Anagrams at Sun Valley📚

👏🏾Shout-out to 3rd grade teacher, Dr. Robinson, at Sun Valley. She intentionally selected compound and complex sentences from her anchor text and used them to provide students with meaningful syntax practice.

This is what purposeful literacy instruction looks like—using the text students are already reading to deepen their understanding of how language works and giving them opportunities to apply that knowledge.

Way to go, Dr. Robinson and our 3rd grade scholars! Sun Valley Elementary ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative

08/10/2026

Hayes K-8 School Kicked Off the First Day of School with cheers and smiles!! Principal Clancy visited classrooms to greet teachers and students to “SET the PACE!”

08/06/2026

Alabama Reading Initiative Quick Links The cogs work more effectively when they are all in place. The graphic is adapted from LETRS for Administrators 2022 & Melody Ilk Consulting.

08/05/2026

Dr. Makiyah Nicole Jones, a Christian counselor, ministry leader, author, and gospel/worship recording artist known for her albums like Rapha the Response of the Healer and her book The Art of Intercession encouraged self care this morning during the symposium.

08/05/2026

Just a few more pictures to document these very informative sessions.

08/05/2026

Under Construction: Building Systems and Structures for Sustainability

Birmingham City School kicks off it’s very first coaching and interventionist symposium centered around supporting student achievement. Ms. Karen Haynes, Interim K-5 ELA and Humanities Coordinator, had a vision to bring all of the Birmingham City Schools reading coaches, reading interventionists and math coaches together to dig deeply into their current roles in order to help ensure the students of BCS continue to improve in math and reading. The symposium opened with an inspirational word brought by Dr. MaKiyah Jones of Atlanta, GA, who challenged the group to take care of themselves first so that they could bring their best selves to the school house. The 26-27 school year promises to be one of excitement and success as the coaches and interventionist are striving to put their best feet forward in order to ensure that students grow to proficiency in BCS. All reading sessions were led by the Region 5 RLSs who did an amazing job of facilitating the professional learning!!!

07/31/2026

Aloha! The New Teacher Academy at the UAB Regional Inservice Center was amazing. New teachers were engaged in sessions to expand their growth to help them be successful in the school year. Anjulena Johnson and I had the privilege of presenting a Dyslexia Awareness training today. The future is bright for these dedicated teachers. ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative UAB - The University of Alabama at Birmingham Anjulena Sanders Johnson

07/28/2026

What a fabulous day of learning for the teachers of Hayes K-8! Mrs. Gooden opened the day by setting the pace with the Hayes mantra! We then became “Word Nerds” and were exposed to several vocabulary strategies to strengthen student comprehension. We also had dynamic conversations centered around vocabulary instruction and integrating the arts and physical education. RLS Stefanie Ward did an amazing job facilitating the professional learning! Hayes, is ready to give the students the best 26-27 school year possible!

RLS Ward challenged the teachers to decide which shared SOR instructional strategy/strategies they would implement with their students this year once the session concluded. The teachers responded to the question excitedly. Vocabulary is definitely going to be the focus for this school year. The Pacesetters are setting the pace right now for their school year!!!

07/22/2026

06/24/2026

I absolutely love Show & Tell in Mrs. Wehrwein’s class! 💜

It is truly magical to watch how she uses the TIDE 🚀 strategy to guide students as they work through an oral paragraph about their special item. As she points to each section of the rocket, students build their ideas and share their thoughts with growing confidence. 🤩🤩🤩

The smiles on their faces as they talk about their favorite item in front of their peers warm my heart every time! 🥰

This is exactly what we mean when we say that oral language is the foundation of everything. 💯 Strong speaking skills help build strong writers, and the connections are so evident in this classroom. I’ve visited during other instructional times as well, and I can personally attest to the positive impact this experience is having on students’ writing growth.

What a joy it is to see students engaged, confident, and excited about learning! 📚✨

ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative
ALSDE Office of Extended Learning
ARI Takesha Morgan
Jill White Langford
Leeds Primary School
Cassie Taylor Pulliam