What does it feel like to be the kid who can't read?

We've spent four seasons talking about reading—scores, science, instruction, dyslexia, teacher preparation, policy, and the systems that shape how children learn.

Now, we're going to listen.

Season 5 of My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis turns the microphone toward the people who have lived the experience of struggling to read: students, former students, parents, educators, and others who remember what it felt like when learning became difficult, frustrating, or even a source of shame.

This season asks:

• What happens when learning becomes a place of shame?
• What happens when a child begins to believe that struggling to read means something is wrong with them?
• What happens when children are told to wait for the help they need?
• And what becomes possible when we finally listen to the voices of struggling readers?

This is a season about reading, yes.

But also about identity. About confidence. About shame. About systems. And about what becomes possible when people finally get what they need to learn.

Season 5, Episode 1: "When Learning Hurts" drops Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

From there, new Season 5 episodes will be released on the first Tuesday of every month.

Subscribe or follow My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

Learn more about the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas and its work to help children learn to read:

https://funlearn.org

All kids reading. All kids succeeding.

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What if the literacy crisis reveals something deeper than reading instruction alone?

In this reflective stand-alone episode, Jesica Glover sits down with David Boulton — creator of Children of the Code — to explore learning, shame, literacy, identity, and the systems surrounding children.

Together, they discuss:

• flatlined literacy outcomes
• learning shame
• generational impact
• inequity and access
• the emotional consequences of struggling to read
• and whether education systems may still be missing something fundamental about how human beings learn.

This conversation follows our Season 4 investigation into literacy, responsibility, and systemic reform.

Some ideas presented in this episode are unconventional and debated. This episode is intended as an exploration and reflection — not an endorsement of every conclusion discussed.

Be watching for our Season 5: Voices launch in late August 2026.

• Children of the Code heartbeat
• Children of the Code: Learning Shame
• Children of the Code: What’s at Stake
• What the Words Say by Emily Hanford
• National Assessment of Educational Progress

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What happens after awareness?

One month after concluding Season 4 of My Child Can’t Read: A Heartland Crisis, Jesica Glover sits down with investigative journalist Emily Hanford for a thoughtful conversation about what comes next in the national literacy conversation—and what that means for Kansas.

Together, they explore:

• Why reading reform is so difficult inside large systems
• The ongoing gaps in teacher preparation
• Why quick fixes rarely create lasting change
• What states like Mississippi can teach the rest of the country
• The role of parents in shaping literacy reform
• Why humility, alignment, and sustained effort matter
• What still concerns Emily most about the literacy crisis

This episode is not a recap of Sold a Story.

It’s a conversation about what comes after the awareness stage—and what it will take to continue moving forward for kids.

Emily Hanford is an investigative journalist with APM Reports and creator of the podcast Sold a Story, whose reporting helped spark a national conversation about reading instruction, literacy outcomes, and the Science of Reading movement.

• Sold a Story by APM Reports
• Planet Word Museum interview with Dr. Carey Wright
• Interview featuring Reid Lyon & Margaret Goldberg
• Mississippi Literacy-Based Promotion Act
• Science of Reading
• Structured Literacy

Dyslexia advocacy movement includes many organizations like these: Decoding Dyslexia and International Dyslexia Foundation (IDA)

Resources & References:

• Structured Literacy (International Dyslexia Association): https://dyslexiaida.org/structured-literacy/
• Kansas Literacy Initiatives (KSDE): https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/English-Language-Arts/Literacy
• Kansas Policy Institute: https://kansaspolicy.org/
• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center: https://www.funlearn.org/

Sit with it.

Then share this episode with someone—a parent, a teacher, a leader.

And if this conversation helped you see things differently, a quick rating or review helps more people find it—and helps this message reach the people who need it most.

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What if the question isn’t whether children can learn to read— but whether we’ve built systems that actually teach them?

In this episode, we step inside a real example of what happens when research, instruction, leadership, and community support are aligned. Through the story of the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center, we explore what it actually takes to move from awareness to implementation—and what becomes possible when we do.

This isn’t theory. This is what it looks like when it works.

And maybe more importantly—this episode asks us to sit with a harder truth:

We don’t need more awareness alone. We need alignment. We need implementation. We need systems built around what we already know works.

Because literacy is not a mystery.

And when we choose to build for it— change doesn’t just become possible.

It becomes visible.

• Cece Woolf — a former classroom teacher who reveals the moment she realized something wasn’t adding up—and how understanding how children learn to read changed everything.
• Dana Hensley — early PFLC board member, sharing how vision, leadership, and persistence helped transform an idea into a lasting organization.
• Bunny Hill — educator and literacy advocate, illustrating both the reality of student struggle and the transformation that happens when instruction finally meets the learner.
• Marietta Wetzel — parent perspective on the power of assessment, early intervention, and what happens when schools, families, and specialists work together.
• Karen [Last Name] — capital campaign leader, offering insight into how belief becomes infrastructure—and the moments that helped others understand the mission.
• James Franko — from the Kansas Policy Institute, offering perspective on the systemic barriers shaping literacy outcomes.
• Jill Hodge — educator, trainer, and school board member, sharing what she’s seeing across districts as awareness—and change—begins to grow.
• Sheree Utash — higher education and workforce leader, connecting literacy to opportunity, workforce readiness, and long-term community impact.

• What happens when teachers are never taught how to teach reading
• The difference between student ability and instructional access
• Why assessment can change not just outcomes—but identity
• How alignment between schools, families, and specialists changes everything
• The real work behind building sustainable solutions—not just ideas
• Why literacy is not just an education issue—but a systems issue

Resources & References:

• Structured Literacy (International Dyslexia Association): https://dyslexiaida.org/structured-literacy/
• Kansas Literacy Initiatives (KSDE): https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/English-Language-Arts/Literacy
• Kansas Policy Institute: https://kansaspolicy.org/
• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center: https://www.funlearn.org/

Sit with it.

Then share this episode with someone—a parent, a teacher, a leader.

And if this conversation helped you see things differently, a quick rating or review helps more people find it—and helps this message reach the people who need it most.

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What if the problem isn’t that we don’t know what works—but that everything around it is out of sync?

In this episode, we explore the growing gap between policy and practice, where teacher preparation, curriculum, and classroom expectations often operate in silos. We unpack what happens when reading struggles go unidentified—and how those challenges extend far beyond the classroom, shaping behavior, confidence, and long-term outcomes.

Featuring a closer look at the role of the Kansas State Board of Education, this conversation reveals the limits of policy alone—and why real change depends on alignment, not blame. Because when systems begin to work together, every child has a real chance to learn to read.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:

• • Reid Lyon — National Institutes of Health researcher on reading science

  • Rob Eagan — Advocate and policy voice on dyslexia recognition and implementation in Kansas

  • Tim Odegard — Why policy without systems, time, and tools fails to translate into classroom change

  • Dana Hensley — The gap between understanding reading science and actually applying it in real classrooms

  • Sheree Utash — What it means when 60% of students arrive needing remediation—and what that reveals about earlier instruction

  • Savannah Ball — How reading struggles show up in the community through avoidance, confidence, and access

  • Judge Richard Macias — The patterns he sees in juvenile court—and how reading difficulties connect to broader life outcomes

  • Jeanine Phillips — Without structured literacy training instructors will never know how much impact they could have had.

  • Betty Arnold — Why addressing literacy requires resources, awareness, and a system prepared to meet diverse student needs

• Kansas State Board of Education
• Kansas Blueprint for Literacy
• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center (PFLC)
• Sold a Story Podcast by Emily Hanford
• Science of Reading research (National Reading Panel)

If this episode helped you better understand the system behind reading outcomes—

• Share it with a parent, educator, or policymaker
• Leave a review to help more people find this conversation
• And follow the podcast so you don’t miss what comes next

Because change doesn’t happen in isolation— it happens when more people understand the system… and choose to act.

In Episode 5, we go deeper into the question this episode leaves behind:

👉 Who actually holds the power to change literacy outcomes in Kansas— and what will it take to move from policy to real results?

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What does the research actually say about how children learn to read—and why hasn’t it reached every classroom?

In this episode, we examine decades of reading science alongside the real experiences of teachers, parents, and students. From the National Institutes of Health to classrooms across Kansas, the evidence is clear: we know how children learn to read.

So why are so many still being left behind?

As national organizations call for a $2.5 billion overhaul of teacher preparation, a deeper truth emerges—this isn’t just a reading crisis.

It’s a teacher preparation crisis.

If we know how children learn to read… why weren’t teachers taught it?

• Dr. Reid Lyon (NIH): Decades of research showing we’ve long understood how reading develops

• Neil Zoglmann (teacher): What it feels like to be trained in methods that don’t align with research

• Dana Hensley (retired principal): Why teachers leave training without practical tools

• Amy Nolan (professor): How literacy gaps show up in college students

• Savannah Ball (Wichita Public Library): What struggling readers look like in real life

• Tammi Hope (Rolph Literacy Academy): What happens when instruction finally aligns with the brain

• Heather Mora (parent): How the right instruction changed her child’s life

• Dr. Tim Odegard (researcher): Why preparation and classroom practice must align

• Dr. Carolynn Carlson (Washburn University): What responsible teacher preparation should look like

Teacher Preparation & Policy

• Education Week (2026): $2.5B teacher prep proposal
• American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

Science of Reading

• National Reading Panel (2000)
• Reading Universe — Ten Maxims
• International Dyslexia Association

National Reporting

• Sold a Story — Emily Hanford

Kansas Context

• Kansas State Department of Education
• Kansas House Bill 2322 (2023)

If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast and share it with a parent, teacher, or policymaker.

Because change doesn’t start in systems— it starts with awareness.

In this episode of My Child Can’t Read: A Heartland Crisis, we move up the ladder of responsibility to examine the adults caught in the middle of the literacy crisis. Teachers, administrators, and community members care deeply and take action—but knowledge gaps, systemic limits, and bureaucratic obstacles often stop even the most well-intentioned efforts. From classroom struggles to a privately funded structured literacy pilot that transformed students’ reading outcomes, we explore how adult action can help—and how the system can still block progress. By the end of the episode, we ask the hard question: Then who is actually holding the power?

• Neal Zoglmann – Middle school SPED teacher; shares the challenge of learning evidence-based literacy while university programs continue to teach outdated methods.
• Jaime Alford – Former principal and director of graduate workshops; discusses the emotional burden teachers carry, the “knowing-doing gap,” and the story of the Downing Project.
• Michelle Schmidt – Teacher; highlights student growth and self-advocacy through structured literacy.
• Joyce Temanson – Teacher; shares how professional development transformed her understanding of the Science of Reading.
• Bunny Hill – Administrator; reflects on systemic friction and the limits of teacher agency.
• Dana Hensley – Administrator; demonstrates how even knowledgeable teachers struggle to implement practices without structural support.
• Analyssa Noe – Founder of Cardinal Academy; describes how discovering the science of reading transformed a rural micro-school where most students entered behind in reading.
• Heather Mora – Parent; illustrates how gaps in adult preparation directly impact students and families.

Resources & References:

• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center: https://phillipsfundamental.org

• BuzzFeed News: Teachers Reveal What No One Wants To Admit About Literacy Education

• IDEA & Special Education Law Overview

• Sold a Story Podcast by Emily Hanford and AMP Reports