This is the SMARTER Literacy Podcast from Ascend SMARTER Intervention. Join us as we simplify evidence-based instruction and bring you the tools and strategies to help students of all ages succeed in reading and writing.
In each episode, we’ll dive into proven, research-based strategies and break down complex concepts, share actionable tips, and explore the power of literacy for every learner. Whether you're just starting your literacy journey or looking for new tools to enhance your teaching, you’re in the right place.
Listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
In this bonus episode, we sit down with Mikayla Storey-Link, a familiar face to the SMARTER community, to hear about her journey from psychology grad with almost no literacy background to nearly a decade of structured literacy instruction; and now, founder of her own practice, COVA Learning Center.
Mikayla talks about what it felt like to learn alongside her students in the beginning, how she thinks about prioritizing skills for older learners who are running out of time, and why having a structured framework actually gives her more flexibility, not less. She also talks about how she opened her own practice this year, and how she's making it work as a new mom.
If you're learning as you go, thinking about private practice, or figuring out what secondary intervention really needs to look like, this one is for you.
Connect with Mikayla:
🌐 covalearningcenter.com (https://www.covalearningcenter.com)
📘 Facebook: @covalearningcenter
📷 Instagram: @covalearningcenter
17 Aug 2026
SMARTER Literacy Chat with Lindsey Buck
In today's literacy chat, we're flipping the script.
You've spent the last several episodes hearing Lindsey interview educators from across the world, and now it's her turn to be in the hot seat. In this literacy chat, Corey sits down with Lindsey to talk about her own journey: from seventh-grade English teacher to reading specialist navigating COVID, to her time at Ascend, to launching Next Chapter Literacy Solutions.
Lindsey talks about what it felt like to piece together instruction without a real curriculum, how she found DSI in the middle of a school year and finally felt like things clicked, and what it looks like to take a leap into the unknown...and actually love it.
🌐 Contact Lindsey: https://www.nextchapterliteracysolutions.net/
(https://www.nextchapterliteracysolutions.net/)⭐ Learn more about SMARTER Intervention: https://smarterintervention.com/dsi (https://smarterintervention.com/dsi)
3 Aug 2026
SMARTER Literacy Chat with Sarah Hornung
What does it actually look like to lead a district through one of the biggest instructional shifts in recent education history without losing your teachers in the process?
In this literacy chat, we sit down with Sarah, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Innovation and Pupil Services at Orchard Park Central School District in New York. Sarah shares what it was like to step into her role just as the national conversation around balanced literacy reached a boiling point, how her district built a shared vision instead of just swapping one program for another, and why "go slow to go fast" became their guiding philosophy through it all.
She also discusses the challenges that haven't gone away - writing instruction, tier one support, screen time, and what it really takes to build a culture where data feels like a tool instead of a verdict.
If you're an administrator, literacy coach, or classroom teacher trying to navigate change without burning everything down, this one is worth your time.
Learn how Ascend SMARTER Intervention can help with programming and implementation in your setting: https://smarterintervention.com/school-services (https://smarterintervention.com/school-services)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
237,606
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
16 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
44
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
51
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Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about SMARTER Literacy
Who hosts SMARTER Literacy?
Corey and Lindsey host the show. Published by Ascend SMARTER Intervention.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes bi-weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does SMARTER Literacy take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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