When adults align, students rise.

Adult training that skyrockets Black student achievement in urban schools

In schools where most students are not yet reading on grade level, improving literacy requires more than student interventions.

Literacy growth becomes predictable when staff, school and home, and students are aligned — beginning with the adults.

The U&I-RISE Guarantee

When the Literacy Alignment Model is fully implemented,

80% or more of students will reach grade-level reading within three years —

or we continue working at no additional cost until that goal is reached.

Most literacy strategies focus on students.

But when the majority of students are reading below grade level, the challenge is not primarily a student problem.

It is a systems problem:

  • Inconsistent expectations across classrooms

  • Misalignment between school and home

  • Students who do not see the relevance of school to their lives

Until those conditions are addressed, student-focused interventions produce limited and inconsistent results.

The most overlooked lever in school improvement is adult alignment.

U&I-RISE focuses on stabilizing and aligning the environment that shapes student behavior, engagement, and learning.

We align the three groups that determine whether literacy growth happens:

  • Staff

  • School & Home

  • Students

The U&I-RISE Literacy Alignment Model

STABILIZE STAFF

Administration and faculty operate from shared responsibility for maintaining a stable learning environment.

CONNECT SCHOOL & HOME

School and home establish shared expectations and a clear understanding of their respective responsibilities, fostering cooperation that supports student success.

EQUIP STUDENTS

Students gain the understanding and tools that make school relevant to their lives now, increasing participation, protecting instructional time, and supporting literacy growth.

When these three conditions are aligned, literacy growth becomes predictable.

A complete system — not a single intervention

Each part of the model is implemented through a structured program:

  • FLARES — Stabilizing classroom environments and adult consistency

  • Healthy School-Home Connection — Aligning expectations and responsibilities between school and home

  • The Student Code — Equipping students with understanding, ownership, and participation tools

The U&I-RISE Guarantee

When the U&I-RISE Literacy Alignment Model is fully implemented:

80% or more of students will reach grade-level reading within three years —

or we will continue working at no additional cost until that goal is reached.

WHO WE WORK WITH

U&I-RISE partners with:

  • Elementary school principals

  • Schools where the majority of students are not yet reading on grade level

  • Leadership teams committed to improving outcomes through systems change

start the conversation

If you are leading a school where reading outcomes are not where they need to be, the next step is simple.