Greg Benner (@GJBenner) header
Greg Benner (@GJBenner) profile picture

Greg Benner

@GJBenner

Dad | Educator | Coach |#WholeChild Champion | Helen & Pat O’Sullivan Professor | Consultant | #StrongSchools @UofAlabama @UA_WholeChild

 Alabama, USA
education.ua.edu/about/directory/faculty-directory/greg-benner/
Joined June 2010
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  • Followers3.3K
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Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)Photo by Greg Benner (@GJBenner)
Can short reading lessons help struggling students catch up? Project LIFT aims to find out 🌞 abc3340.com/news/local/can-s… @FriendsOnBlock @IESResearch @UofAlabama @MrZachG @UACoachMurphy @CECMembership @OregonResearch @mjshields @abc3340 @PhonicsMom @ehanford @NIFDI @MmeLockhartLDS
Can short reading lessons help struggling students catch up? Project LIFT aims to find out

Can short reading lessons help struggling students catch up? Project LIFT aims to find out

The University of Alabama project plans to train teachers in 75 primarily rural elementary schools to use Friends on the Block, a reading program tested with st

abc3340.com
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Greg Benner retweeted
Emily Hanford (@ehanford) profile picture
Emily Hanford@ehanfordOct 29
What happened in Alabama? @LianaLoewus digs deep on the history, the policy and the people behind the state's efforts to help kids learn to read. fordhaminstitute.org/nationa…
Studying the Southern Surge: How Alabama Beat the Odds in Reading

Studying the Southern Surge: How Alabama Beat the Odds in Reading

How Alabama improved early literacy through science-of-reading reforms, state leadership, literacy coaching, and evidence-based instruction.

fordhaminstitute.org
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Greg Benner retweeted
Zach Groshell (@MrZachG) profile picture
Zach Groshell@MrZachGOct 23
Why America’s massive educational experiment didn’t transform schools apmreports.org/story/2026/10…
Why America’s massive educational experiment didn’t transform schools

Why America’s massive educational experiment didn’t transform schools

In the 1960s, the United States government wanted to find the best way to teach kids who were behind. A federal study called Project Follow Through found an answer. But 60 years later, few schools...

apmreports.org
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Big news! 🎉 Stephanie Al Otaiba, Ph.D., will deliver the 2026 Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture! To watch Dr. Al Otaiba's lecture, register for DyslexiaCon26 today: ow.ly/qwk650ZWluH #DyslexiaCon26 #ScienceOfReading #StructuredLiteracy #UntilEveryoneCanRead
Image from International Dyslexia Association (@DyslexiaIDA)
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Greg Benner retweeted
Emily Hanford (@ehanford) profile picture
Emily Hanford@ehanfordOct 1
Sold a Story Season 2 is coming October 15th. youtube.com/watch?v=4YDq-AB_…
Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story is an investigative podcast about how kids learn — wha...

youtube.com
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Greg Benner retweeted
Emily Hanford (@ehanford) profile picture
Emily Hanford@ehanfordOct 1
Sold a Story Season 2 is coming, two weeks from today. youtube.com/watch?v=4YDq-AB_…
Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story is an investigative podcast about how kids learn — wha...

youtube.com
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Greg Benner retweeted
Zach Groshell (@MrZachG) profile picture
Zach Groshell@MrZachGOct 1
Finally, Direct Instruction will get its due. I trust Emily’s reporting because she is curious and smart. The sophisticated instructional theory that underpins DI is too dense, but don’t skip it. This account will be the place where I do that work. Feel free to join me.
Emily Hanford (@ehanford) profile pictureEmily Hanford@ehanfordOct 1
Sold a Story Season 2 is coming, two weeks from today. youtube.com/watch?v=4YDq-AB_…
Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Sold a Story is an investigative podcast about how kids learn — wha...

youtube.com
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📣 We're hiring! Join Project LIFT — a $11.2M @usedgov grant @UofAlabama scaling evidence-based early literacy in rural Alabama schools. Senior Operations Leader | $93K careers.ua.edu/jobs/educatio… #EarlyLiteracy #ScienceOfReading #SoR #hiring @FriendsOnBlock @MrZachG @CECDResearch
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Excited to read this @EdWeekOpinion recognizing @AlabamaAchieves Asst State Superintendent Melissa Shields for her leadership skills. #aledchat @ALDailyNews edweek.org/leadership/opinio…
The 10 Words That Will Make You Rethink Education Leadership (Opinion)

The 10 Words That Will Make You Rethink Education Leadership (Opinion)

Leadership isn't about status. It's about service to others.

edweek.org
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Education Week (@educationweek) profile picture
Education Week
@educationweekAug 4
Middle Schoolers' Reading Scores Are Still Stuck at Post-Pandemic Lows edweek.org/teaching-learning…
Image from Education Week (@educationweek)
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Greg Benner retweeted
Zach Groshell (@MrZachG) profile picture
Zach Groshell@MrZachGJul 30
Do me a favor and send this to an administrator or someone at the central district offices aei.org/research-products/re…

Explicit Instruction Works. Education Schools Just Won’t Admit It.

Contrary to its common caricatures, explicit instruction is not a teacher monologue, a hindrance to student creativity or problem-solving skills, or a risk to children’s self-esteem.

aei.org
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Greg Benner retweeted
Zach Groshell (@MrZachG) profile picture
Zach Groshell@MrZachGJul 27
New from me! Explicit instruction works. Education Schools Just Won’t Admit It. @rpondiscio @AEIeducation aei.org/research-products/re…

Explicit Instruction Works. Education Schools Just Won’t Admit It.

Contrary to its common caricatures, explicit instruction is not a teacher monologue, a hindrance to student creativity or problem-solving skills, or a risk to children’s self-esteem.

aei.org
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Greg Benner retweeted
Megan Greenwell (@megreenwell) profile picture
Megan Greenwell@megreenwellJul 21
WIRED sent me to Mississippi to report a different kind of feature about reading. Why are third-graders there acing standardized tests but older students are still struggling with comprehension? What does measuring "literacy" even mean? wired.com/story/mississippi-…
Stop Saying Kids Can’t Read

Stop Saying Kids Can’t Read

Everyone is talking about the reading crisis. But inside the “Mississippi Miracle,” it’s all about comprehension.

wired.com
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To support shifts toward whole child education, the #WholeChildPolicy Toolkit outlines a framework of five key whole child policy elements that can serve as a guide for transformation for state policymakers and education leaders. wholechildpolicy.org/
Whole Child Policy Toolkit: a circle graphic in blues and greens with 5 sections: in the center, Setting a Whole Child Vision; Transforming Learning Environments; Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments, and Accountability Systems; Building Adult Capacity and Expertise; and Investing Resources Equitably and Efficiently.

ALT Whole Child Policy Toolkit: a circle graphic in blues and greens with 5 sections: in the center, Setting a Whole Child Vision; Transforming Learning Environments; Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments, and Accountability Systems; Building Adult Capacity and Expertise; and Investing Resources Equitably and Efficiently.

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The science of learning & development is clear: students benefit from learning environments that use whole child design. LPI & @Turnaround, in partnership with @forumfyi & @SoLDAlliance, translated this science into five key #SchoolDesignPrinciples. k12.designprinciples.org
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“A ray of hope is emerging in American education,” and Alabama is shining brightly. Read the full article from @nytimes: nytimes.com/2026/02/09/opini…
Image from Alabama State Department of Education (@AlabamaAchieves)
Image from Alabama State Department of Education (@AlabamaAchieves)
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Greg Benner retweeted
NCTQ (@NCTQ) profile picture
NCTQ
@NCTQJul 1
From the report: 52% of all teachers (and 61% of new teachers) say that managing student behavior is their top source of work-related stress. Better preparation for aspiring teachers in classroom management can help change that. nctq.org/research-insights/c…
Classroom Management Framework: Foundations for Proactive and Respectful Practice in Elementary...

Classroom Management Framework: Foundations for Proactive and Respectful Practice in Elementary...

New research links teacher turnover to increased exclusionary student discipline, with Black students disproportionately affected.

nctq.org
RAND (@RANDCorporation) profile pictureRAND
@RANDCorporationJun 21
In 2026, teachers were more likely than similar working adults to report experiencing poor well-being on every indicator—a consistent pattern since 2021. bit.ly/3Qp6lIy
Checking in with America's Teachers: 2026 Survey Results

Checking in with America's Teachers: 2026 Survey Results

In 2026, teachers were more likely than similar working adults to report experiencing poor well-being indicators such as frequent job-related stress, symptoms of depression, and burnout. This has...

rand.org
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Eric Mackey (@egmackey) profile picture
Eric Mackey@egmackeyJun 17
Alabama’s Graduation and College and Career Readiness Rates continue to rise #ThankALTeachers
Image from Eric Mackey (@egmackey)
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Alabama has the second highest growth in reading scores in the nation since 2019
Image from Alabama State Department of Education (@AlabamaAchieves)
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Greg Benner retweeted
Eric Mackey (@egmackey) profile picture
Eric Mackey@egmackeyJun 5
Alabama has exceeded pre-pandemic levels of achievement in mathematics and has the largest increase in mathematics in the Nation
Image from Eric Mackey (@egmackey)
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