We recently connected with Jill Lauren and have shared our conversation below.
Jill , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
The most important skill that we can teach a young student is how to read. This essential survival skill enables an adult to fully function in society. Without the ability to read, for example, adults cannot apply for many jobs, complete coursework needed for certain careers, or read to their children. Yet, two-thirds of our nation’s students reach fourth grade unable to read proficiently. And many of these students will eventually find their way to prison, where the majority of inmates are illiterate.
There are two critical ways in which to change our educational system to address this crisis. The first it to make sure that graduate school programs properly prepare future educators to teach reading in a manner that reflects current research, which is to utilize a phonics approach. The second change involves the creation of beginning reading curriculum that is evidence-based, comprehensive, engaging, and reflective of the diversity in our country. It is the latter to which I’ve devoted the final chapter of my teaching career.
Jill , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Throughout my career as a learning specialist, my expertise has been in the area of dyslexia. Not only do I teach children how to read, but I also instruct educators as to best practices related to teaching reading. Throughout my years as a teacher trainer, teachers appreciated the theoretical underpinnings of the program I had been hired to train them in, but they often rejected the student materials. Specifically, they complained that the beginning reading phonics books were boring, didn’t make sense, and lacked color. They were sure their young students would not like them, which made them reluctant to enthusiastically use the program, which often led them to fall back on old, unsuccessful practices.
Though I loved teacher training, I decided not to continue until a better program was available. My thought was that if we were going to turn children into lifelong readers, then they had to see what was so fun about reading right from the start, which meant colorful, well-illustrated phonics books with engaging story lines. I believed, too, that teachers would benefit from working with phonics materials that excited their students. It’s not easy to teach a phonics program, so the materials had to motivate teachers to do the hard work. Eventually, I decided to write those books myself. I then found a fantastic artist who had struggled to learn to read himself. He poured his heart into his illustrations, believing that they could encourage children to stick with a story, even if reading was hard. I also worked with a number of talented teachers to create additional materials to complement the readers, such as workbooks.
We launched Whole Phonics one month before the pandemic began, which is, of course, terrible timing for a product mean for classroom use. Still, 2.5 years later, our books are being used in all 50 states and 10 countries. The news of our materials is being spread through word of mouth by teachers themselves. The most exciting aspect of this success story are the emails we get from teachers each week. Here’s an example that made the Whole Phonics team proud: We can’t keep these books on the shelves for our struggling readers. Thank you so much for the work you are doing making reading accessible for some who had previously given up on it!
Learning the sounds of our language and their relationship to letters, which is phonics, can and should be a fun, engaging experience for beginning readers. With our educationally sound and vibrant product line, Whole Phonics is fulfilling its mission of helping more children learn to read.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As mentioned, I launched my business and one month later, the pandemic led to a shut down of schools around the country. Rather than wait for schools to reopen, date unknown, I began reaching out to educational influencers and teacher trainers and offered to send them my materials. During a time in which many people were worried about the future, receiving a new, upbeat set of readers was quite welcomed. These influencers and trainers wrote articles about the series, created webinars, and interviewed me via Zoom. It was this base of cheerleaders who generated a buzz about Whole Phonics. When schools reopened, teachers were already interested in the material and robust sales began.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Prior to starting my own educational publishing company, I had published two books with two different publishers. Each experience was special in its own way, but I also learned that it was up to me to promote my book, all for a 10% royalty. The effort required yielded limited financial return. When I planned the creation of Whole Phonics, I researched the cost of printing and decided it was worthwhile to self-publish. I met some wonderful printers along the way who educated me about gutters, paper stock, CMYK, and other concepts related to printing. When one printer’s product was less than stellar, I sought out another. By asking a lot of questions, and displaying sincere gratitude for excellent service, I’ve developed a wonderful relationship with my current printer, who is critical in bringing my ideas to life through the Whole Phonics readers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.whole-phonics.com
- Instagram: @wholephonics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholephonics/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-lauren-89a74313a/
- Twitter: N/A
- Youtube: N/A
- Yelp: N/A
- Other: Feel free to ask us questions at [email protected]
Image Credits
Darren McKee