At Phoenix Academy in Chelsea, Massachusetts, a charter high school with a high percentage of multilingual learners, the high school student literacy gap isn’t hypothetical. It’s real, pressing, and mission-critical. As I learned in my conversation with Josh, the principal of the Chelsea campus, he and his team require every student to read above a 10th grade level to graduate. Yet, according to diagnostic reading and math assessment data, one-third of his students are reading under the 2nd grade level. Their homegrown reading classes delivered solid gains for mid-level readers but left the lowest groups nearly unchanged. Josh and his team lacked expertise in teaching foundational literacy skills, and it was then that Josh knew it was time to bring in outside support.
The Need for a Holistic Ecosystem
One of the main reasons why Josh decided to choose Storyshares over stitching together multiple vendors was because of the “all-in-one ecosystem” that would cover four main points:
Curriculum & Materials: Decodable texts written for older students.
Teacher Training: Skill-based workshops led by practitioners who have experience teaching older, striving readers.
Student Workbooks & Guides: Structured practice materials and clear lesson plans.
Ongoing Coaching & Monitoring: Regular check-ins and data analysis to ensure progress.
For Josh, having a single partner manage planning, coaching, and monitoring was far more efficient and effective than juggling separate phonics programs, fluency drills, and outside consultants.
Phased Integration for Maximum Impact
Josh grew even more excited when he described how Phoenix Academy will blend its existing literacy tools with Storyshares’ resources, but he’s also realistic about budget and cautious about heavy upfront investment without proof of impact. To start, the school will roll out Storyshares’ digital library, fluency and decoding workbooks, teacher guides, and summer and monthly training sessions, all led by expert literacy interventionists. Even better, they can seamlessly align their Achieve3000 lessons with the Storyshares scope and sequence, creating a truly integrated approach that teachers can better understand. As Josh puts it, “This isn’t about buying the fanciest books; it’s about developing our own literacy specialists who know how to effectively teach older students.”
Trust Amid Risk
Rolling out a new literacy program is a big risk, especially as the first major initiative under Josh’s leadership. I asked what gave him confidence. He pointed to the Storyshares team, particularly the founder he knew well, whose practitioner-led model, deep niche expertise, and comprehensive approach convinced him they could deliver real impact. “It’s not just theory,” Josh said. “These are people who have walked the walk teaching older students to read.”
Josh shared that his teachers and staff are genuinely excited to see what Storyshares has to offer. After previewing the materials, the team said, “These are the resources we’ve been looking for.” While they’ve suggested small tweaks, overall they see Storyshares as a “strong foundation” that promotes a holistic intervention targeted towards older students in a way no other program has offered before.
Listening to Josh’s journey underscores a vital lesson: solving a deep-rooted literacy challenge requires more than content—it demands a full ecosystem of support and the willingness to think outside the box. If you lead a school facing similar hurdles, consider partnering with an organization that offers curriculum, training, coaching, and implementation monitoring under one roof. Josh said it perfectly when asked about how he would describe Storyshares to another educator: “Our students deserve nothing less than a for-teachers-by-teachers holistic solution designed for older learners.” If you would like to know more about Storyshares and what we have to offer, explore our Pathway to Literacy and reach out to us with any questions you may have!