The Benefits of NIFDI Support
On this page, you will hear from school leaders, teachers, and students who have benefited from NIFDI support services. You will also find videos and stories showcasing schools that have achieved success with Direct Instruction (DI) and see DI in action in classrooms.
Leader Perspectives
Interviews with leaders at NIFDI Partner Schools.
One of the most important steps a school that is starting to implement DI can take is to contact school leaders who have been successful with DI. Through this contact, new DI practitioners can learn from veteran DI practitioners’ experiences to ensure their students are successful with DI as well. Over the course of 25 years, NIFDI has had the privilege of partnering with schools across the U.S. and in other countries. (See below for success stories of NIFDI partners.) Now, NIFDI is launching a series of video interviews with experienced DI leaders that can help inform new practitioners about their experiences working with NIFDI. Below are short video interviews with instructional leaders who share their experiences working with NIFDI and how it has affected their instructional practices and students’ performance.
Leaders
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Tova Feifer, K-2 English Language Arts Supervisor
Lakewood, New Jersey
“At first I was extremely hesitant because it looked different than programs I had used in the past…however after the outstanding training, ongoing collaboration, and exceptional coaching from Tara, our NIFDI coach, we came to appreciate just how unique and special this DI program is. The structured, explicit lessons, consistent routines, immediate corrective feedback…seeing the measurable growth in students, completely changed my perspective.”
In this Partner Perspective, Tova shares her experience as part of an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) first-grade supplemental reading study. The project uses Reading Mastery and the Science of Reading to improve literacy outcomes, while providing participating educators with professional development, curriculum, and instructional resources.
Rhonda Richetta, Principal
City Springs Elementary/Middle School
Baltimore, Maryland
Implementation Type: Schoolwide literacy and math
Partnered with NIFDI in 1996
Rhonda started at City Springs as a teacher, left the school, and then returned as principal. Upon her return, she found that the implementation had deteriorated substantially. Her solution was to contact NIFDI and get her school back to the high quality she knew was possible. When asked how NIFDI helped her as an administrator, she replied, “The assistance in looking at the data and making decisions was really valuable. I couldn’t have done it by myself.” For teaching staff, she adds, “The most valuable tool for a teacher is a NIFDI coach… side by side, shoulder to shoulder. They model for you, show you, and give you feedback.”
Sean McKenzie, Director of Support Services
Bethel School District
Spanaway, Washington
Implementation Type: Corrective Reading, intervention for students in 4 schools
Partnered with NIFDI in 2019
Bethel School District partnered with NIFDI to refresh and upgrade their implementation of the Corrective Reading Program. They had been DI users for some time but weren’t getting the results they felt were possible. Along with improved student performance, Sean notes the increase in the quality and quantity of communication among staff members. He tells us, “Schools with NIFDI support have more and better discussions about what they are doing and how it impacts individual student achievement.” He goes on to say, “The partnership between cert[ified] and para[professional] is tight. They know that their time with students is the most important time they are going to get, and they treat it accordingly.”
Finally, he tells us, “Our principals have all agreed that NIFDI support is the single most changing professional development experience they have experienced in their careers.”
Nazam Hussain, School Psychologist
Bradford, United Kingdom
Implementation type: Language for Learning and Reading Mastery in two Primary Schools.
NIFDI began working in Bradford when Nazam attended the National Direct Instruction Conference in 2019. He was interested in improving teachers’ professional development beyond what he describes as “one-off presentations that have no effect.” He further describes how NIFDI support is the polar opposite. “The thoroughness and robustness of the training was rigorous and professional but sensitive to the individual. The schools like the support, and they are seeing the results.”
Robin Shakespeare, Director of Education
Midland Academies Trust
United Kingdom
Implementation type: Research project implementing Connecting Math Concepts in eight schools and extended professional development of their key DI support personnel.
NIFDI began partnering with the Midlands Academy Trust and the U.K. Direct Instruction hub in 2018. The Education Endowment Fund was calling for research on improving math skills in students in their secondary schools (U.S. equivalent to 7th-9th grade). The staff had been using DI for several years but had not received formal training. Once we began working together, the Midlands leadership quickly realized the benefits of the NIFDI partnership. As Robin describes, “When you work with NIFDI, you work with a group of people who are professional, passionate and challenging–in the best sense of the word.” To describe the impact of NIFDI support, Robin says, “I would use the word transformational to characterize our relationship with NIFDI.”
Selina Ortiz, Assistant Principal of Instruction
IDEA Edinburg Academy
Edinburg, Texas
Implementation Type: Reading Mastery (Signature and Transformations), DISTAR Arithmetic I, and Connecting Math Concepts in Pre-K through grades 2, Corrective Reading, Essentials for Algebra, DISE, and Expressive Writing in grades 3-8.
Partnered with NIFDI in 2010
Selina Ortiz has been a classroom assistant and teacher and is now an Assistant Principal of Instruction. She appreciates the data-driven nature of NIFDI implementations and how it supports her in her job, and in turn, helps teachers overcome student performance problems. She says, “The teachers have gained so much knowledge behind the data tracking. They love the consistency of end-of-week goals, end-of-month goals… it is so helpful.” Selina also values the strong professional development NIFDI provides. She notes, “The tools and procedures taught in training are applicable to an array of programs. When they present a new program, they pick it up easily.”
Ann Fuentes, Assistant Principal of Instruction
IDEA Mission Academy
Mission, Texas
Implementation Type: Reading Mastery (Signature and Transformations), DISTAR Arithmetic I, and Connecting Math Concepts in Pre-K through grades 2, Corrective Reading, Essentials for Algebra, DISE, and Expressive Writing in grades 3-8.
Partnered with NIFDI in 2010
Ann Fuentes is the Assistant Principal of Instruction at IDEA Mission Academy. One of the things she values in partnering with NIFDI is the strong relational support the NIFDI Implementation Manager (IM) provides. She talks about her school’s implementation manager’s style of giving “small, bitesize level of feedback. This has supported me in improving as a teacher. The IMs build relationships. She is here to help and support. It is a caring, comforting approach.”
Teacher Perspectives
Interviews with teachers at NIFDI Partner schools.
Teachers
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Ashley Barrett, Teacher
St. Charles Parish Public Schools
Luling, Louisiana
“Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t go back to teaching the way I did before.”
In this video, Ashley Barrett, an experienced educator from St. Charles Parish Public Schools, shares her firsthand experience implementing the Reading Mastery Language program, a Direct Instruction (DI) approach, for the first time.
Ashley discusses the realities of introducing DI in her classroom, including the initial challenges, the strategies she employed to adapt, and the significant academic gains her students achieved. Her experience not only transformed her classroom instruction but also deepened her understanding of effective literacy education.
She also highlights the role of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) in supporting her school through ongoing coaching and feedback, which contributed to measurable improvements in student performance. This video offers valuable insight for educators, administrators, and instructional leaders considering the adoption of Direct Instruction programs or seeking to enhance their implementation practices.
Kjerstin Hagen, Special Education Teacher
BugONeyGeShig School
Cass County, Minnesota
Special education teacher Kjerstin Hagen shares what she’s seeing in her classroom using Corrective Reading Comprehension A, B1, B2, C, and Corrective Reading Decoding C.
- Students making real-world connections across subjects
- Measurable gains in reading, writing, and comprehension
- Increased confidence and independence in general education settings
- Students meeting goals and even exiting support services
Kjerstin also references growth on MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) and MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) reading data. MCA is a summative, standards-based assessment that measures end-of-year proficiency, while MAP is a formative, adaptive assessment that tracks individual student growth over time. Seeing gains across both highlights not just achievement, but meaningful progress for each learner.
Kjerstin also highlights something we hear often: success doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from trusting the process, sticking to the routine, and having access to high-quality training and coaching every step of the way.
At NIFDI, we partner with schools and districts to make that level of implementation possible. Find out more about the Corrective Reading Decoding and Comprehension programs here.
Elana Gordon, Reading Interventionist
Institute of Education Sciences, Illinois
In this Partner Perspective, educator Elana Gordon shares how participating in an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) literacy study using Reading Mastery, the Science of Reading, and coaching from NIFDI helped transform outcomes for her students.
Hear how students who entered the intervention well below benchmark made remarkable reading gains, and why Elana says ongoing coaching made all the difference.
“Someone who knows the program inside and out… One of the best coaches I have ever met.”
Watch the interview to learn how high-quality implementation support can help students not just catch up, but thrive.
Student Perspectives
Students
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Dustin, age 7, is in first grade at IDEA Travis Academy in Midland, Texas.
In this video, he reads the story from Lesson 146 of Reading Mastery Signature.
Luella, age 5, is in kindergarten at IDEA Travis Academy in Midland, Texas.
In this video, she reads the story from Reading Mastery 1, lesson 45. After she finishes the story, note her ability to recall story events.
Abner, age 5, is in kindergarten at IDEA Travis Academy in Midland, Texas.
In this video, Abner demonstrates his skills, reading from a supplemental reader that accompanies Reading Mastery Grade K.
Sebastian is a student at IDEA Quest College Prep. In this clip, he speaks about his experience in Math and the success he experienced after being taught using the Essentials for Algebra program.
Schools
Videos about schools that have received Direct instruction training and support from NIFDI.
Schools
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Literary Success in the Primary Grades
A Conversation with Leaders of Dixons Manningham Primary
Dixons Manningham Primary School leaders Terri Leighton, Yasmin Ali, and Abigail Burrow discuss the school’s journey from implementing Corrective Reading, a remedial program for select students in Grades 3 (roughly equivalent to Year 4 in the UK system) and above, to implementing Reading Mastery Signature Edition reading and language tracks as core instruction for all primary-grade students.
They describe the remarkable changes in students’ ability to read and understand grade-level texts. Clips of students receiving instruction and participating in other activities are interspersed throughout the video.
Read a follow-up report here.
Supporting Dixons Manningham Primary
An Interview with Kris Althoff
NIFDI Implementation Manager (IM) Kris Althoff provided training and support to Dixons Manningham Primary School as it implemented Direct Instruction (DI) for core literacy instruction for all of its students. In this interview, Kris talks with Bryan Wickman, Outreach Director for the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI), about the steps that led to a dramatic increase in student performance in the primary grades at the school during the COVID pandemic.
Read a follow-up report here.
ELL Education: Keys to Ensuring Literacy
This video highlights an academic preschool pilot project begun in the Fall of 2014 at Pharr IDEA Academy in Pharr, Texas. In this pilot, students at this predominantly ELL school were taught using Espanol to English and/or DISTAR Language prior to entering kindergarten.
Direct Instruction (DI) is often used to help students who are struggling academically. DI can be used to accelerate the learning of higher performing students, too. This video portrays two schools in different parts of the country that have used DI successfully with all children, including high-performing students: Emerson Elementary in Alliance, Nebraska, and Fickett Elementary in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both schools follow a similar formula for achieving success:
- All teachers and instructional aides received initial training and ongoing support from the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI).
- Students are grouped homogeneously and placed at their skill level.
- Student performance data is reviewed weekly to determine the appropriateness of instruction for all students.
- Students are allowed to progress at a faster pace and cover advanced content as their performance indicates.
This video shows how careful implementation of Direct Instruction with NIFDI support can bring out the joy and wonder of reading while preparing students for advanced content.
Video Resources
Video Guide
Transcript
Helping Kids Soar (with subtitles in Spanish) – Translations and subtitles courtesy of Carlos Vílchez-Román and Juan Villaorduña Velarde.
Closing the Performance Gap: The Gering Story
Gering Public Schools, a small district in northwest Nebraska, used to suffer from a reading achievement gap. In 2004, 36 percent of all second-grade Hispanic students met fluency benchmarks, compared with 59 percent of all white students in the district’s three elementary schools. Low literacy performance was also a problem at the district’s sole junior high school.
That was before the district implemented the comprehensive Direct Instruction model with the support of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). Now, the achievement gap in reading has been closed. Over three-fourths of all students meet second-grade fluency benchmarks, with a higher percentage of Hispanic students meeting benchmarks than white students! At the junior high school, the need for remedial reading programs has declined drastically as students are much more able to comprehend content area texts.
This video portrays the district’s transition from one with literacy problems to one in which all students receive an education that meets their literacy needs. The video describes the changes in instruction, progress monitoring, and professional development resulting from implementing the comprehensive Direct Instruction model.
Video Resources
Gering’s Data Before and After NIFDI Support
Video Guide
Transcript
Closing the Performance Gap (with Spanish subtitles) – Translations and subtitles courtesy of Carlos Vílchez-Román and Juan Villaorduña Velarde.
The Battle of City Springs – Epilogue
This video tells the story of a school in a high-poverty area of a large U.S. city that experienced years of failure before implementing the full immersion model of Direct Instruction. Until Baltimore’s City Springs Elementary started implementing the full immersion model of Direct Instruction in 1996, the school was considered to be the epitome of failure. Over 90 percent of the students were (and still are) eligible for free or reduced lunch. Academic performance was at sub-basement levels. No students in the 3rd grade or the 5th grade passed the Maryland state test, the MSPAP, in either mathematics or writing. The Abell Foundation rated City Springs as the 2nd lowest-performing school in the city of Baltimore.
The school climate was just as poor. Students ran the halls, and teachers locked classroom doors in order to control them…and keep others out. The 2000 PBS documentary, The Battle of City Springs, captured the difficulty of transforming the school during the second year of DI implementation, 1997-1998.
After six years of implementing full-immersion DI with support from NIFDI, the school is the epitome of success. The halls are clean and orderly. Students are well-behaved. Most importantly, student performance has improved dramatically. Students, teachers, and the principal take great pride in their accomplishments.
Video Resources
City Spring’s data before and after NIFDI support
Video Guide
Transcript
This video is courtesy of the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) based in Hillsboro, Oregon. The school featured in this video is not supported by NIFDI but exemplifies the benefits of Direct Instruction (DI). Special thanks to Bonnie Grossen, PhD., Executive Director of CARE.
Video Resources
Transcript
DI in the Classroom
See DI being used in classrooms.
DI in Action
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Donna Dressman, a Direct Instruction consultant and trainer, demonstrates Lesson 110 of the Kindergarten level of Reading Mastery Signature Edition (RMSE) at John G. Carlisle Elementary School in Covington, Kentucky.
Filmed April 15, 2024
Take a look inside a real kindergarten classroom using Reading Mastery Signature K and see how sounds are explicitly taught.
In this short clip, you’ll notice instructional delivery techniques that make a difference:
- Clear point-touch-signal to guide responses
- Active monitoring of every student response
- Positive affirmations that reinforce accuracy and confidence
These practices may look simple, but they require intentional training and practice to deliver fluently and effectively.
Watch the video to see a group of students fully engaged and responding in unison. In just a short time, every student gets multiple opportunities to practice and build mastery of sounds.
Experienced NIFDI Implementation Manager Rosella Givens was in Fort Worth, Texas, supporting IDEA Rise Academy, part of the IDEA Schools charter school network that implements Direct Instruction (DI) for reading and language in the primary grades. Some of the Kindergarten learners at the school needed an assist as they learned to say simple identity statements (e.g., “This is a clock.”). So Rosella provided a lead (saying it with the students, also known as “We Do”) as the teacher presented the exercise from the Reading Mastery Signature Edition language track. Watch as Rosella (white shirt) stops accompanying the students when it’s clear that they can say “the whole thing” on their own!
Filmed in November 2024
In this video, maverick educator Siegfried “Zig” Engelmann demonstrates an instructional approach in which young children solve basic algebraic problems (DI, of course!). This is the first part of a video filmed in the summer of 1966. The students featured in the film attended the Bereiter-Engelmann Preschool for at-risk children and, at the time of this filming, had not yet entered first grade.
Success Stories
View the stories below to learn about the successful implementation of Direct Instruction using NIFDI support.
Dixons Manningham Reading Mastery Report
Dixons Manningham Reading Mastery Report by Jon Owen Section I – Context In December of 2025, I was asked by the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) to visit Dixons Manningham Primary School in Bradford. This was an exciting opportunity to visit a school that had chosen to implement the primary Direct Instruction (DI) programme
Texas Pre-K DI Pilot Program Readies Students for Kindergarten
Texas Pre-K DI Pilot Program Readies Students for Kindergarten Nearly 100 pre-k students in Texas have reason to be proud of their newfound reading and language skills. IDEA Pharr Academy in Pharr, Texas, introduced a pre-kindergarten pilot program in the fall of 2014 featuring Direct Instruction programs to reduce the achievement gap and ensure students
Helping Kids Soar: Children Reaching Their Full Potential with Direct Instruction
Helping Kids Soar: Children Reaching Their Full Potential with Direct Instruction Direct Instruction (DI) is often used to help students who are struggling academically. DI can be used to accelerate the learning of higher performing students, too. The 16-minute video, Helping Kids Soar: Children Reaching Their Full Potential with Direct Instruction, portrays two schools in
The Battle of City Springs – Epilogue
The Battle of City Springs – Epilogue The Battle of City Springs Epilogue tells the story of a school in a high-poverty area of a large U.S. city that had experienced years of failure before implementing the full-immersion model of Direct Instruction. Until Baltimore’s City Springs Elementary began implementing the full-immersion model of Direct Instruction
Closing the Performance Gap
Closing the Performance Gap Gering Public Schools, a small district in northwest Nebraska, used to experience a reading achievement gap. In 2004, 36 percent of all Hispanic second-grade students met fluency benchmarks, compared with 59 percent of all white students in the district’s three elementary schools. Low literacy performance was also a problem at the
Cape York Aboriginal Academy Teams with NIFDI to Develop Internal Capacities
Cape York Aboriginal Academy Teams with NIFDI to Develop Internal Capacities By Jane F. Carter, PhD. At a time when many schools are looking for quick fixes for student performance, the Cape York Australian Aboriginal Academy (CYAAA) schools, located in the far northern part of the country, stand out as shining exceptions. This organization, developed
Testimonials
While Direct Instruction (DI) has been around for decades, many haven’t heard anything about it. The stories and testimonials here are from real people in real schools working with real students. They learned about DI in a wide variety of ways and want to share their stories and experiences with others interested in DI.
Proud of my Smart, Happy 1st Graders!
This past year has been an amazing and enlightening experience for me; I hope for my students as well. Using Reading Mastery, I’ve been able to develop, as well as enhance, my kids’ reading abilities. It’s pretty much the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my life. I believe by the end of first grade these guys will be able to read around 100 words per minute, if not more (I’ve got many students up around 180-200 words per minute), with a vocabulary of approximately 1700 words.
I really appreciate the science behind the programs. I like how new bits of information are introduced in small increments, while the major concepts are repeated over and over again. Like in Connecting Math Concepts 1, for instance, we have a similar routine everyday, and I feel like my kids have a solid grasp of the material. Their test scores prove it. I give my students a lot of credit. We have really high standards, and students step up to the plate. With some exceptions, they come everyday ready to learn and work hard. I teach the lessons with energy, enthusiasm and excitement, which I think helps keep the kids engaged. Overall, however, I think the curriculum combined with the DI approach are what a lot of my students’ successes can be attributed to.
DI is a huge success. My students are smart and happy, and I’m super proud of them!
~ Billee, 1st Grade Teacher
Amazing Training and Support
The training and support we have received from NIFDI has been amazing. We have a great staff, but now they are very effective reading teachers. They are more confident about their skills and more knowledgeable about their students. They are very protective of the students in their groups and feel very responsible for their learning.
~ Anonymous
Be Free to Focus on Students Again
Consider this: It’s 2:30pm and you’ve just looked at tomorrow’s lesson plans. Verbs. You think to yourself, “Hmm…ok. Where is that worksheet I had on verbs? In the filing cabinet? On my computer? No, I think it is in the file set in the back room…” You finally locate the master, but you still need copies. You head for the office to make copies, only to end up the last teacher in the line for the copy machine. Not only is this a lot of legwork to get everything prepped for the next day’s lesson, it has left the design of instruction up to you to figure out.
Direct Instruction has already done these jobs for you. The lessons are planned, the sequence of tasks have been carefully laid out to ensure students have the foundational skills they need before doing that day’s lesson and the teacher isn’t spending valuable time trying to track down materials.
With DI, you’re not the technician anymore. You’re not making up the lessons anymore. You’re free to focus on your students again!
~ Robyn
DI’s Results with ELL Students: “Amazing”
I made the mistake of underestimating how well DI would work with my English Language Learner (ELL) students. I had a student who I didn’t think would be able to make it in the program. Just two weeks ago, he was frustrated and slamming his workbook on his desk. We are now in Corrective Reading: Comprehension B and he is surpassing the rest. Same thing with Corrective Reading: Decoding! He can independently answer written questions from the stories we read together, and he is constantly asking what words mean and gets really excited about the stories. His English progress is incredible and he retains and uses what he learns. I’ve worked with MANY ELL students and have never seen the results I am seeing with him! It is AMAZING to see this DI program work for ELL students.
~ Elena
Great Trainers from NIFDI
I just wanted to take a minute and let you know what a great pair of trainers you have in Tamara and Sue. They are kind, compassionate, focused, energetic, and diplomatic. Thanks for assigning them to our site!
~Angie, Elementary Principal
Share Your Story!
How to Submit Your Story
Do you have a story to share about your experience with DI? Submit it to NIFDI and give others a window into the world of DI. You can submit your story by emailing testimonials@nifdi.org. In your submission, please provide your name, phone number, location, and your story of how DI has affected your life and/or your students.
*Note: By submitting your story, you are giving NIFDI permission to use your story in any media without compensation or prior notice. NIFDI reserves the right to not accept submissions and/or modify submissions as necessary and appropriate. If you wish to remain anonymous, please indicate so in your message.