Twenty years ago, the National Reading Panel reviewed more than 100,000 studies and made evidence-based recommendations on how we teach reading — yet those practices continue to be missing from most classrooms. Today, the alarms are still sounding about the quality of reading instruction in K-12 education.

School system leaders must understand the key themes and implications of this growing national conversation about literacy. There are real issues with the way that reading is taught in many classrooms, as well as new opportunities that school districts should explore.

As the chief academic officer in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, where we have introduced reading reforms systemwide, I see the potential to improve reading instruction at scale and the tangible steps districts can take to do so. Vastly improved reading outcomes are actually within reach, and that should motivate all of us.

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