Ep. 190 - Read Today, Lead Tomorrow: Sophie Allen Etchart on Tackling the Literacy Crisis

2025-11-19

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What if a 10-week, after-school program led by older students could move the needle on a statewide literacy crisis? Sophie Allen Etchart, founder and CEO of Read Better Be Better (RBBB), shares how a simple, peer-led reading model — pairing middle school leaders with younger readers — is helping Arizona students beat the odds in a state where 61% of third graders aren't reading at grade level. Sophie shares how she built Read Better Be Better from testing the curriculum with a kid in her nei...

What if a 10-week, after-school program led by older students could move the needle on a statewide literacy crisis?

Sophie Allen Etchart, founder and CEO of Read Better Be Better (RBBB), shares how a simple, peer-led reading model — pairing middle school leaders with younger readers — is helping Arizona students beat the odds in a state where 61% of third graders aren't reading at grade level.

Sophie shares how she built Read Better Be Better from testing the curriculum with a kid in her neighborhood to a recent study by an independent education group confirming that students in their programs outperform their peers on key literacy measures. Now, the program stands as a Tier II evidence-based option schools can include in their literacy plans.

If you care about focusing school boards on what works, championing the science of reading, and finding leadership by looking around — not up — this conversation offers a hopeful, practical roadmap for systems-level change.

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