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California Reading Curriculum

Proven Reading Interventions for California’s Diverse Learners

California’s transition to evidence-based literacy demands specialized, proven support. The question for districts is how to ensure implementation is strong, consistent, and targeted enough to produce measurable gains for all students.

From Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention to special education and tutoring, California districts turn literacy priorities into measurable reading growth for every learner.

RGR enables California schools to act quickly with targeted intervention, ensuring at-risk students receive the instruction they need to achieve measurable reading growth.

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Explore the Path from Word Reading to Meaning

RGR's interventions for older students, HD Word and Orbit, support different parts of literacy development, working together to help students move from accurate word reading to comprehension. HD Word builds advanced decoding skills, while Orbit reinforces multisyllabic word fluency and builds the morphology, vocabulary, and language comprehension skills that help students unlock meaning from complex text.

Access the Scope & Sequence documents to see how RGR's upper elementary instruction progresses from decoding multisyllabic words to building vocabulary, language comprehension, and meaning.

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From Adoption to Daily Execution

California teachers already have a lot on their plates and need more than just theoretical training to close severe reading gaps. They need easy-to-implement supports that seamlessly translate your district investments into daily practice.

To bridge the gap between adoption and actual classroom execution, educators require practical, open-and-go routines backed by embedded, in-the-moment professional development. RGR partners with districts to build true instructional capacity, providing the ongoing coaching and support teachers need to confidently deliver high-impact intervention every single day.

Built for California's Multilingual Learners

California districts serve a massive, diverse multilingual learner population. RGR's structured literacy programs provide the explicit phonics, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction that MLL students need to access grade-level text. Our routines work alongside existing language development programming to accelerate English reading proficiency and support implementation of the California ELA/ELD Framework.

How CA Schools Boost Adolescent Literacy Scores

A California alternate education program, Sunburst Academy, unlocked potential in secondary students with interrupted learning by moving beyond standard remedial paths to embed structured, systematic literacy instruction directly into daily intervention. The results showed up in rapid decoding gains, fluent reading, and rebuilt academic motivation.

The challenge: Many students entered the school year significantly below grade level in reading after years of limited intervention success, leading to low confidence and high resistance to classroom participation.

The approach: Sunburst Academy embedded Really Great Reading's explicit, multisensory structured literacy routines into daily intervention, guiding educators with progress monitoring and targeted small-group lessons.

The result: 100% of students demonstrated measurable decoding growth, reading fluency grew by 71%, and students achieved an average 40% increase in decoding performance.

Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy Case Study
Recognition & Evidence CA Leaders Can Stand Behind

RGR's literacy approach is grounded evidence-based and validated through independent third-party research, with all-green EdReports ratings and ESSA evidence alignment. In California, RGR partners with districts, County Offices of Education, and SELPAs on implementation that aligns to state literacy expectations and dyslexia screening mandates.

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Accelerate Student Outcomes with RGR

If you’d like to explore how RGR can support your students, we’d be glad to connect.

“These students are not only learning to read; they're learning to believe in themselves again.”

Jacqueline Newman
Program Specialist, Orange County Department of Education
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Meet Your California Literacy Partner

Roberta supports California districts across the state. She’ll help you navigate California's unique funding landscapes, align with dyslexia screening mandates, and set up low-risk pilots to prove student growth before you scale.

FAQs

RGR's structured literacy approach is built on evidence-based research required to support at-risk students. Once California students are screened, RGR provides the immediate, explicit phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding instruction needed to intervene effectively.

RGR is designed to supplement core programs, not replace them. California districts use RGR to provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention for students whose foundational reading gaps aren't fully closed by core instruction, to support multilingual learners, and to deliver age-appropriate adolescent intervention. Because RGR is an intervention and tutoring solution, districts have full purchasing autonomy.

Yes. RGR supports multilingual learners through structured, explicit literacy instruction that helps students access grade-level reading, fully complementing the CA ELA/ELD Framework. RGR includes embedded multilingual supports such as native-language scaffolds, articulation videos, and visual resources that make foundational skills more accessible.

California districts successfully utilize a variety of funding sources for RGR, including Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) funds for after-school tutoring, Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) funds, Title I, and Transitional Kindergarten (TK) grants.