TRANSCRIPTION 🔗
WEBVTT
NOTE
This file was generated by Descript
00:00:00.049 --> 00:00:02.099
Pete Hall: Welcome to the Transformative Principal.
00:00:02.129 --> 00:00:06.319
I am so excited to share this interview from ISTE 2026 with you.
00:00:06.859 --> 00:00:08.509
Really fascinating things happening there.
00:00:08.509 --> 00:00:14.419
Lots of great people, and over the course of the next couple weeks, you're gonna hear some of these great interviews.
00:00:14.774 --> 00:00:18.404
Hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening to Transformative Principal
00:00:18.718 --> 00:00:18.988
Interview 7 - Jethro: All right.
00:00:18.988 --> 00:00:23.298
We're here with Erin Bailey at, ISTE ASCD twenty twenty-six.
00:00:23.368 --> 00:00:23.948
Oh, geez.
00:00:25.028 --> 00:00:28.998
Erin is, Tell us who you are and, what you do with Reading Is Fundamental.
00:00:29.106 --> 00:00:29.486
Erin Bailey: Yeah.
00:00:29.486 --> 00:00:34.926
So I am the vice president of literacy programs and research at Reading Is Fundamental.
00:00:34.936 --> 00:00:36.336
That's a mouthful.
00:00:36.946 --> 00:00:57.746
what I like to say now is that my platform is that I am a educator turned researcher turned parent, and I draw from all those experiences to inform
what we do at Reading Is Fundamental, which is build programs around book ownership, access, and choice, and then measure the efficacy of those
00:00:58.230 --> 00:00:58.570
Interview 7 - Jethro: Yeah.
00:00:58.620 --> 00:00:59.240
Excellent.
00:00:59.490 --> 00:01:05.600
And, you have a great podcast called Reading Inspires that you host, and you do a great job with- Thank you … and it's fun.
00:01:05.870 --> 00:01:11.670
but as we were talking yesterday, you mentioned that there are some new developments at RIF that are exciting.
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:11.710
Yes.
00:01:11.720 --> 00:01:13.320
So let's talk a little bit about those
00:01:13.322 --> 00:01:13.364
Erin Bailey: those.
00:01:13.364 --> 00:01:19.714
So I'll start with the tech development, and that is Skybrary, which you can think of as a library in the sky.
00:01:19.904 --> 00:01:20.424
Skybrary.
00:01:20.734 --> 00:01:25.034
It is an e-book app for ages three through nine.
00:01:25.454 --> 00:01:31.464
On the app, you have 1,000 beautiful children's picture books with read-to-me narration.
00:01:31.464 --> 00:01:37.144
There's a text highlighting feature, which is great for fluency and word recognition.
00:01:37.414 --> 00:01:42.514
And then what's very exciting is that earlier this year, we launched a free version.
00:01:42.534 --> 00:01:46.064
So now on Skybrary, if you download the app, you can get 100 free books.
00:01:46.444 --> 00:01:47.594
Why 100 free books?
00:01:47.684 --> 00:01:50.954
there's a study, Evans et al., 2012-
00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:53.370
Interview 7 - Jethro: you don't have to cite on podcasts,
00:01:53.584 --> 00:01:54.039
Erin Bailey: you
00:01:55.404 --> 00:02:28.344
I, I think in citations- Yeah … Jethro, you know I do But I will give you the link in case you to Yeah link it But this study found that there is a strong correlation between books
in the home and a not just reading achievement but academic attainment And so the measure there was 100 books in the home So what we've done essentially is put 100 books in every home
in America As long as you have an a device which most households do you can get access to 100 free children's books and they are very high quality so yeah that's why that And Yeah
00:02:29.354 --> 00:02:46.916
We're very proud of it It's won Apple's app of the day in 19 countries and counting I'd like to think So we you know it's a For me it's a
great success story because we are a nonprofit We have a very small digital team but we took the time and we designed a very powerful app
00:02:47.450 --> 00:03:05.850
Interview 7 - Jethro: which is great because books is ideal the physical books Mmhmm But if you don't have that there's still power in having the digital books
and that's and if that's what the access is then that's great along those lines there there's also the acquisition of August House Publishing So tell us about
00:03:05.850 --> 00:03:06.130
that
00:03:06.278 --> 00:03:57.048
Erin Bailey: So also exciting for 2026 is that RIF acquired August House Publishing August House has around 185 titles About 65 of those are children's picture books The others are teacher resource books for storytelling we have scary stories which are
great for middle readers And August House as a publisher is focused on oral storytelling so these are stories that have been passed down for generation hundreds thousands of years some of them And so we believe if these stories have survived all of that time
they're worth protecting and we want to get more of these stories into the hands of children So you can see why acquiring publishing arm was a perfect for Reading is Fundamental because we're about book access and now we can give more access to books for
00:03:57.408 --> 00:04:04.998
Interview 7 - Jethro: Yeah Well and when you told me yesterday I was like Finally you have Right a legitimate physical publishing arm in addition to the digital
00:04:05.038 --> 00:04:05.078
publishing
00:04:05.968 --> 00:04:12.478
Erin Bailey: both right now Yeah My husband always would joke with me too He's like Why don't you guys publish your own book And I would like That's crazy Like
00:04:12.588 --> 00:04:12.728
Interview 7 - Jethro: we
00:04:12.948 --> 00:04:13.088
That's
00:04:13.438 --> 00:04:13.468
Like
00:04:13.838 --> 00:04:20.068
Erin Bailey: we That's crazy Like We could never And then it's like Wait why wouldn't we if this opportunity for us Yeah So we're super excited
00:04:20.128 --> 00:04:41.258
Interview 7 - Jethro: Yeah That's great The only challenge is because you are a nonprofit and you do so much to give books you still need to have income and be able to m support giving away books so you gotta find ways ensure
Yeah that you've
Load full transcript
got You can't just give away all the August House books right Yeah Absolutely And you find ways to to generate revenue still and all that and make it so that you can afford to give away as many books as you can
00:04:41.360 --> 00:05:12.740
Erin Bailey: Yeah absolutely So because we're a nonprofit we have to steward these dollars that come in The great thing both Skybury a and August House since we are a nonprofit any proceeds that we do make from Skybury subscriptions or August House books that
we sell that just goes right back into what we are doing at Reading is Fundamental And then same like with the books we have authors and illustrators that we want to show our support to and they make royalties off of these books Okay So yes we're not just
00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:14.500
printing and
00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:18.470
giving away all of these August House books We have to sell some as well
00:05:18.618 --> 00:05:27.748
Interview 7 - Jethro: That's right tell us a little bit about Reading Inspires the podcast and what that looks like and how you're feeling about it now after you've been doing it how long
00:05:28.010 --> 00:05:28.110
Erin Bailey: Like
00:05:28.928 --> 00:05:31.078
Interview 7 - Jethro: eight months Eight months Okay
00:05:31.890 --> 00:05:32.190
Erin Bailey: well
00:05:32.200 --> 00:05:33.040
thank you Jethro
00:05:33.590 --> 00:05:44.730
you produce Reading Inspires I think so to anybody who's thinking about doing a podcast there's a lot more that goes into than what you would probably think I think
00:05:44.770 --> 00:05:45.130
like
00:05:45.800 --> 00:06:21.600
TV shows that podcast is just actually what you and I are doing right now Just sitting down and talking but there are about six people that work on Inspires I'm one part of it I host it I prep for the shows
by I recruit some of the guests I if they've published a book I read their book I prepare the questions for them but then there's a whole editing team and there's a whole marketing team So people who People
do podcasts on their own but it's a lot more work than probably what many people think So that's how I'm feeling after eight months But really it's a dream come true I think we started talking about it
00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:29.250
like two ago so that's another thing if, if anyone's looking to get into podcasting is it's, it's a marathon not
00:06:29.610 --> 00:06:30.230
Interview 7 - Jethro: that's right.
00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:37.530
That's, that's what I tell people all the time is that this can't be a let's, let's try it for three months and see how it goes.
00:06:37.670 --> 00:06:57.090
It needs to be a point of view and a, a specific opinion that you have that you're willing to commit to, because it's really about the thought leadership,
establishing yourself as, as an authority on this idea and, and being the one that people should go to for whatever it is that you're talking about.
00:06:57.170 --> 00:07:01.670
and that's where… That's why
it was such a good idea for Riff because you guys are already there.
00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:16.360
And this just gives you more opportunity to share the great things you're doing, bring on people who, who can add to your authority, and, give you, give value to people who want to know more about all the things that you guys talk
00:07:16.605 --> 00:07:16.754
Erin Bailey: about.
00:07:16.754 --> 00:07:17.564
Yeah, absolutely.
00:07:17.564 --> 00:07:24.764
And I think I mentioned earlier, I'm coming from a perspective of an educator, a researcher, and a parent.
00:07:25.064 --> 00:07:28.994
And so we have guests that touch on all of those- topics.
00:07:28.994 --> 00:07:37.744
And the audience is all-- You know, we have educators, librarians, researchers, community support, funders, volunteers.
00:07:38.134 --> 00:07:40.094
Reading Inspires, it's not just for educators.
00:07:40.094 --> 00:07:47.034
And th- there are wonderful podcasts out there that just talk about the science of reading and that are educator-oriented.
00:07:47.234 --> 00:07:51.934
this one's more… We do have science of reading, but it's more about what I call the joy of reading.
00:07:51.974 --> 00:07:55.964
So bringing everyone together to create a full, journey for a child.
00:07:55.974 --> 00:07:56.844
And we need both, right?
00:07:56.844 --> 00:08:03.110
We need podcasts that are focused for educators, and we need podcasts that are for everyone about That,
00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:07.080
Interview 7 - Jethro: that help people see that reading sh- really should be joyful, and it is.
00:08:07.270 --> 00:08:14.070
And I was reading, I've been reading an author, Chad Zunker, these thriller type, lawyer type, books.
00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:25.500
It, when I get into these books, I just, I always read them before I go to bed, and I just cannot wait to get to bed and start reading because I love to escape into that world.
00:08:25.620 --> 00:08:33.180
and I love my life, but it's really cool to just be immersed in some other world, and that is so much fun, and
00:08:33.180 --> 00:08:33.530
it's,
00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:38.290
it's something that I can't replicate anywhere else except when I'm reading.
00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:45.500
And so, like, I want every person to feel that and, and be able to experience it, and a lot of people do.
00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:55.620
But there's also a lot of people who don't find joy in it, where it's hard and it's difficult, and they don't understand what the point is and, and maybe they can't visualize or they could visualize too much.
00:08:55.620 --> 00:09:06.410
And so, like, making it so that they can find joy in reading, that, that's what I love about RIF's purpose and why I love that you're doing the podcast about it
00:09:06.520 --> 00:09:07.260
Erin Bailey: Thanks, Jethro.
00:09:07.260 --> 00:09:19.570
Yeah, we-- it was a process to even get to what role do we play in child's reading journey because books, choice in books, and access to books, that's all, that's our foundation.
00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:24.580
We offer a lot of things right now, like teacher professional development, webinars.
00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:30.740
We have a whole suite of free resources for educators, and families that they can use with their students.
00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:38.890
So we do provide support around the books, but we also wanted to distinguish ourselves that true to our mission is really about that joy piece.
00:09:38.890 --> 00:09:38.910
Yeah.
00:09:38.920 --> 00:09:43.330
So if it's not joyful, we are not going to be involved in it.
00:09:43.490 --> 00:09:43.860
Interview 7 - Jethro: Yeah.
00:09:43.920 --> 00:09:48.090
I love that, and it's such a good stance to take that's what it's about.
00:09:48.160 --> 00:10:00.700
And, and that, to me, frees you to do whatever brings joy and limits you from doing anything that you're like, "Eh, this doesn't fit our mission." And, and that's, that's great to have that point of view.
00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:05.570
Where can people learn more about Reading Is Fundamental and listen to your podcast and all that?
00:10:05.628 --> 00:10:15.038
Erin Bailey: you can find at rif.org, and under rif.org, we have a blog and media section, and you can find all the latest episodes as well as our YouTube channel.
00:10:15.038 --> 00:10:18.398
You can watch the videos of the podcast episodes as well.
00:10:18.528 --> 00:10:18.988
Interview 7 - Jethro: Excellent.
00:10:18.998 --> 00:10:19.448
Very good.
00:10:19.448 --> 00:10:20.698
Thank you, Erin, for being here.
00:10:20.938 --> 00:10:21.368
Appreciate it.