Same River, Different Banks: The Illinois Numeracy Plan Meets Dyscalculia Science

Same River, Different Banks: The Illinois Numeracy Plan Meets Dyscalculia Science

Illinois has a bold new vision for math education — but does it see every learner in the room? In this episode, we put the Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan in direct conversation with the SLD Project's Dyscalculia Handbook to find out where state policy and learning disability science are pulling in the same direction, where they're talking past each other, and what's at stake for the students who can't afford the gap between them.

Illinois Has a Numeracy Plan. Alabama Has a Law. What's the Difference?

Only 38.5% of Illinois students in grades 3–8 are meeting grade-level math standards — and that number doesn't get better in high school. This episode dives deep into Illinois's newly finalized Comprehensive Numeracy Plan: what it requires, what it recommends, and what it leaves entirely up to you. Then it traces what changed from Draft 2 to the June 2026 final — and why those edits matter for districts already in motion. It closes with a head-to-head comparison to Alabama's Numeracy Act, the legislation that funds coaches, designates struggling schools, and ultimately reconstitutes the ones that don't improve. Same problem. Two very different theories about who's responsible for solving it.

Co-Teaching Done Right — or Not at All

Most co-teaching partnerships look like one teacher teaching and one teacher watching. This episode cuts through the comfortable version of inclusion and gets honest about what high-functioning co-teaching actually requires — main models explained, Levels 1 and 2 unpacked, the research behind why it works, and the real reasons teachers resist it. Plus: what your Enneagram type has to do with whether your partnership thrives or quietly collapses. Built for small schools where limited special education teachers serve an entire building and the schedule is the first thing to break.

Math Intervention Without a Math Specialist: Making It Work in Small Schools

You know your students are struggling with fractions. You've got the data showing significant gaps across grades 3-5. You've implemented SpringMath and created intervention blocks. But here's the problem: you don't have a math specialist, and you're not getting one anytime soon. Sound familiar? In this episode, we tackle the challenge facing hundreds of small elementary schools: how do you deliver effective, research-based math intervention when your staff are generalists, not math experts? We synthesize frameworks from leading intervention researchers—Codding, Volpe, Poncy, Riccomini, Witzel, Barton, and Schuhl & Kanold—to answer the practical questions principals actually face: Can your classroom teachers deliver quality Tier 2 intervention when some of them struggle with fractions themselves? Should your special education teachers focus exclusively on Tier 3, or can they support broader intervention efforts? Can paraprofessionals run intervention groups with the right materials and training? And most importantly: can your grade-level PLC teams, working collaboratively, compensate for the lack of a math specialist? We explore four real scenarios from a small 3-5 school serving 150 students: the fraction gap crisis, the 30-minute intervention block staffing puzzle, special education teacher role decisions, and building teacher capacity through PLC structures. We distinguish between "research ideal" (specialist-led intervention) and "small school reality" (strategic use of generalists with strong systems), naming the trade-offs explicitly. You'll leave with actionable answers about who can deliver which tier of intervention, how to structure your math intervention time, and whether investing in teacher professional development can genuinely substitute for hiring a specialist you can't afford. Because sometimes "good enough" intervention delivered with fidelity beats "research perfect" intervention that never happens.

Master Scheduling: Mission Possible?

Check in with us to listen in on the challenges master scheduling provides, and the ways to think about prioritizing and developing a sound schedule for all.