Watching a child struggle to read can feel heartbreaking—and for parents and teachers, it’s easy to feel powerless. In this bonus episode of My Child Can’t Read: A Heartland Crisis, host Jesica Glover sits down with Tammi Hope, Director of Program Development at Phillips Fundamental Learning Center (PFLC), to hear how belief, the right tools, and a child-centered approach are transforming literacy education in Kansas. This episode is packed with hope, insight, and inspiration for parents, teachers, and advocates alike.

What You’ll Learn:

• How child-centered, research-based literacy programs can change lives
• The importance of understanding the whole child in learning and advocacy
• Steps parents and educators can take to ensure children get the support they need
• Tammi Hope’s journey from teacher to leader in literacy programs
• How PFLC teaches the whole child, not just reading skills
• Powerful stories from educators experiencing “lightbulb moments” in training
• Lessons from her grandchildren that reaffirm why effective intervention matters

"If you know that you're using tools that don't work, you are doing a disservice to the child and to yourself. You're setting both of you up for failure." — Tammi Hope

Resources & Links:

• • Parents and Community Members, attend a PFLC free lecture or simulation to understand more about dyslexia and experience firsthand how it feels to be neurodiverse. Email jsmith@funlearn.org or call (316) 684-7323 to learn more.

• Educators, learn more about attending a Structured Literacy Intervention Specialist course by contacting Anne: achandler@funlearn.org or call (316) 684-7323

• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center
• Andeel Teacher Literacy Institute at PFLC

Call to Action

• Subscribe so you never miss an episode, including Season 2: The Anatomy of Change
• Rate & Review on your favorite podcast platform to help others find the show
• Share this episode with a parent, teacher, or professor preparing future educators
• Tell us your story at: funlearn.org/subscribe
• Explore screening tools and resources at: funlearn.org

This podcast is produced by KB PODCASTS

What if every child had access to the kind of instruction that transforms lives?

In our Season 1 finale, we revisit the journey of Austin, once a struggling 6-year-old, now a thriving 17-year-old scoring in the top percentiles on the ACT. His story reminds us what’s possible when kids are finally taught to read with proven methods.

This episode takes a hard look at Kansas literacy outcomes, where only 28% of fourth graders are proficient in reading, and explores the systemic reforms underway. From legislators and board members to parents, teachers, and students, you’ll hear how Kansas is at a turning point — and what it will take to finally get this right.

• Austin Collins shares how his life was transformed after years of struggle having had structured literacy instruction
• Senator Renee Erickson on the literacy crisis and why research shows 95–97% of kids can learn to read with the right instruction
• Kansas State Board of Education Chair Cathy Hopkins on what’s kept the science of reading out of classrooms — and why collaboration is the key to moving forward
• Representative Megan Steele, both policymaker and parent, on why this crisis is personal and professional
• Research shows 95–97% of students can learn to read with structured literacy.
• Policy changes like the Seal of Literacy are steps forward, but without strong implementation and classroom application, they risk falling short. Rolph Literacy Academy demonstrates how science-based instruction can change lives — for students, parents, and educators alike.
• Veteran teacher Stephani Brooks on the challenges of training and implementation in Kansas schools
• Skyline Schools PK-8 Principal Diane House and Teachers: Joyce Temanson, Carrie Harrold, Michelle Schmidt share the shift in student impact after having structured literacy training in Alphabetic Phonics on the lives of students- who also share as well.
• This is Kansas’ moment of reckoning: if we get this right, we can change the future for every child.

• Children of the Code Project
• Hope for Kansas Episode 1
• IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council)
• Kansas State Department of Education — Literacy Seal requirements
• LETRS Professional Learning by Dr. Louisa Moats
• NAEP (Nation’s Report Card) Kansas Reading Results
• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center
• Sold a Story podcast — Emily Hanford, APM Reports
• Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science by Dr. Louisa Moats (AFT, 2020)
• Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene (Viking, 2009)

Call to Action

• Subscribe so you never miss an episode, including our bonus episode with Tammi Hope from PFLC and Season 2: The Anatomy of Change
• Rate & Review on your favorite podcast platform to help others find the show
• Share this episode with a parent, teacher, policy maker, or professor preparing future educators
• Tell us your story at: funlearn.org/subscribe
• Explore screening tools and resources at: funlearn.org

This podcast is produced by KB PODCASTS

• Cooper, Evie, Emmi, Hadlie, and Austin — students reflecting on what it feels/felt like to be called “stupid,” “lazy,” or ignored in class
• Parents Stacie Swanson, Sarah Collins, and Lindsey Angleton — sharing the early signs they saw and the pushback they faced
• Dr. Janelle Tidemann — psychologist explaining the overlooked red flags and why bright, creative kids often slip through the cracks
• Jeanine Phillips, Jill Hodge, and Sarah Balzar — Kansas educators describing how training changed everything they thought they knew
• The national scope of reading struggles, the Reading Wars, and why balanced literacy wasn’t enough
• Struggling readers often say they feel “stupid” or “invisible” long before they’re diagnosed
• Early signs — speech delays, difficulty rhyming, not recognizing letters — are often brushed off as “they’ll grow out of it”
• Dyslexia is real, common, and too often misdiagnosed as behavior problems, ADHD, or defiance
• Balanced literacy left teachers unprepared to meet the needs of all learners
• Early intervention and structured literacy change not just academic outcomes, but emotional lives

• Subscribe so you never miss an episode
• Rate & Review on your favorite podcast platform to help others find the show
• Share this episode with a parent, teacher, policy maker, or professor preparing future educators
• Tell us your story at: funlearn.org/subscribe
• Explore screening tools and resources at: funlearn.org

• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center (Wichita, KS)
• LETRS Structured Literacy Training
• Children of the Code video series: What’s at Stake
• Sold a Story podcast — Emily Hanford & APM Reports
• Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene (Viking, 2009)
• Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science by Dr. Louisa Moats (AFT, 2020) — Read PDF
• Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University — Jack Shonkoff’s work
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Scores, 2024 Visit NAEP – Nation’s Report Card