To ensure that our work is as powerful as possible, LitLife engages a Four Step Process in all of our schools. The Four Steps are Discovery, Commitment, Implementation and Appraisal.

1> Discovery
During the Discovery phase of the consulting process, LitLife conducts an initial goal meeting with the client. We discuss goals and challenges, and begin to get a sense of the particular school environment.

The meeting is followed by in-depth collection of data through meetings with teachers and administrators; discovery walks to view classroom and library environments; sessions spent watching teachers in action; and a review of the district’s written documentation. LitLife collects student work samples and studies test results to determine patterns in school-wide learning. We analyze data that is meaningful to students, teachers, administrators and parents, and reflective of the school.

In the Discovery phase, our purpose is to learn as much about the school’s environment as possible. LitLife consultants immerse themselves in the school to gather valuable on-the-ground information. We begin introducing ourselves to all members of the school community, developing relationships and building trust. We spend time talking with teachers, students, librarians, and administrators about their vision for their school. We ask teachers to describe their ideal literacy classroom: what it looks, sounds, and feels like. Theses descriptions are invaluable in shaping our work in bringing that dream classroom to life.

Our discovery days also always include students: we aim to keep the curriculum close to their wishes and their needs.

2> Commitment
After the Discovery phase, LitLife consultants generate a formal proposal detailing the work in the school. With a course of action in place, both parties discuss their responsibilities and goals for the year. During this important phase, LitLife asks members of the school what they want and hope for from our work, and we pledge to do everything in our power to help meet those goals. LitLife consultants commit to providing exceptional customized professional development; members of the school community commit to engaging with us. We discuss how we will all sponsor this work and forge a real partnership.

During this phase, we ask: What do you hope to achieve in the teaching of reading and writing? If you had to choose a major and a minor focus point for building your work this year, what would they be?

Our curriculum planning relies on a few key overarching principles. Important among them is ARCH, which stands for Assessment, Routines, Choice and Healthy Community. Our consulting aims to balance all four areas in order to create a thriving school. ARCH balances the rituals students crave with the flexibility teachers need to do things differently every day.

In committing to a curriculum, we ask four essential questions, and then work together to develop answers.

• What are we teaching? Lessons and units.
• When are we teaching it? Yearlong calendars.
• Why are we teaching it? Philosophy and pedagogy.
• How will we teach it? Structures and routines.

These discussions reveal the outcomes desired from the teaching of reading and writing, over the course of a day, a unit and a year. In clarifying ideal immediate next steps, yearlong steps, and three-to-five year steps, our discussions help us to shape an achievable, compelling course of action that is both immediate and long reaching.

3> Implementation
Once we have a plan in place, LitLife and the school begin implementing the different stages in improving the school’s literacy education. Through both short-term and long-term steps, we delve into the work of teaching reading and writing. During this phase, we are trying new things, reevaluating old practices, and together implementing best-practice methods for literacy education.

The curriculum is the essential framework for effectively teaching reading and writing. We often work with a team of teachers to review existing curriculum and note strengths and problem areas. Together, we design a new curriculum.

LitLife consultants then work within the curriculum plan to support teachers with techniques to implement across the year. Consultants model best-practice teaching, with a group of teachers observing. For example, a LitLife consultant might demonstrate a demonstration of a read-aloud, modeling effective ways to engage children and relate the book to other learning areas. After a demonstration, the teachers and consultant meet to discuss.

During this stage, LitLife will also appraise classrooms and libraries, with suggestions for making the space ideal for learning. Something as simple as adding more book baskets to a room can make a massive difference in flow.

The Implementation phase depends on a constant back-and-forth flow of information on what is working, and what is not. Individual consultants are also supported in Implementation by the considerable resources of the LitLife group as a whole. Consultants utilize LitLife’s wealth of information and experience, as well as its comprehensive informational database. LitLife is composed of a team, not a collection of consultants: we closely supervise the work consultants are implementing in schools. We share information on progress made in all of our schools, as together we work towards helping students delight in reading and writing.

4> Appraisal
The Appraisal phase is perhaps the most important of all. LitLife employs 360-degree appraisal to ensure that our consulting is effective. Our appraisal begins on the first day of Implementation and continues beyond the school year. It is both formal and informal, using surveys, feedback forms and, most importantly, thoughtful discussion.

After each session in a school, we ask: Where are we? How should we modify where we are going? LitLife relies on daily appraisal and a constant flow of feedback. We also encourage communication between in-school visits. At the end of the school year, we ask: Did we meet our goal? We discuss areas in which we exceeded our goal, and areas to modify. We examine both national standards and other indicators of a healthy, flourishing school.

Schools have a number of different means for judging success. There are standardized tests and statistics, and then there is the other, more subtle means for judging a school—the sense of commitment and satisfaction in its members. At LitLife, our work is standards-based. We create quantifiable results. We help students to exceed state standards, but the test scores are simply markers of how well they are reading and writing. That’s what we truly care about; that is our true mission. A love of reading and a love of writing are invaluable. And with them come the excellent test scores: they are indicators, not end goals. We always work to ensure that the focus is on the students and what they need.