Only 1 in 3 eighth graders can read proficiently; Great Minds and Magpie Literacy are joining forces to change that.
Great Minds PBC and Magpie Literacy are teaming up to improve reading instruction in U.S. schools.
Great Minds is a leading provider of high-quality instructional materials and aligned professional learning opportunities for educators. Magpie Literacy offers a breakthrough digital tool that teaches foundational reading skills throughout K-8. Working together, the two organizations will integrate high-quality core curricula with digital tools to create a powerful and coherent classroom experience.
In fall of 2027, Magpie’s digital tool will be embedded in and implemented alongside Great Minds’ English Language Arts curricula, supporting readers in grades K-8.
This integrated package will include the following:
- Arts & Letters core curriculum, which builds students’ knowledge and reading comprehension, along with a print reading foundation curriculum for K-5
- An integrated reading assessment, designed by Stanford University to quickly assess students’ foundational literacy skills
- Online practice of foundational literacy skills, from early work on letters and sounds to more advanced work with multisyllabic words.
Building on new research on the needs of readers, Magpie designed and tested an engaging and high-quality literacy tool; pilots with 50,000 students show early learning gains that meet robust standards for evidence.
Together, Magpie and Great Minds will pioneer a coherent approach to reading instruction that can unlock real reading gains for students.
Great Minds, which serves 4.8 million students and helps school systems drive learning gains, will scale these innovative offerings in classrooms across the country.
Magpie founder Rebecca Kockler will join Great Minds as Chief Learning & Product Officer, where she’ll ensure coherence across its K-12 instructional offerings and help incorporate Magpie's research and tools into Great Minds’ core programs.
“Pairing high-quality core curriculum with resources that support foundational skills will help improve instruction in schools and literacy outcomes for young people,” said Great Minds CEO John White. “This partnership will fuel progress toward our shared mission of helping students become strong readers and writers.”
“We have always believed that we could have the greatest impact by pairing our digital product with a best-in-class curriculum, delivering both quality and coherence at scale,” said Kockler. “Great Minds is the ideal partner to bring this vision to life.”
In 2026, Magpie Literacy will continue to operate as a nonprofit project housed at Cambiar Education, led by Ariela Rozman.
Rozman, the former CEO of TNTP, will work with Kockler and Magpie Board Chair Christina Heitz, the CEO of Cambiar Education, to ensure a strong transition.
Contact:
Nancy Zuckerbrod, nancy.zuckerbrod@greatminds.org
Phone: 202-499-6796
