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Matt Renwick

@readbyexample.bsky.social
499 followers 105 following 202 posts

Systems coach, author, and fan of the Oxford comma Writing at readbyexample.substack.com

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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Every student is not the same, nor is every context. The complexity of teaching and learning is real, and it cannot be side-stepped by standardizing all activity in an effort to “teacher-proof” instructional environments. 
- Learning to Improve, Bryk et al
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
What do all the "look-fors" I pay attention to in classrooms have in common? They capture the complexity of instruction vs. reducing teaching down to a behavior or a score. More: open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
What I Look For When I Visit Classrooms
On Develop a Rich, Nuanced Understanding of Instruction
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Principals: Trying to visit classrooms, only to get pulled back to the office as soon as you leave? Join me for a free webinar on December 4, where I share the processes I used to be present with teachers and students. RSVP --> luma.com/m6om1q8n @middleweb.bsky.social @corwinpress.bsky.social
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Reposted by Matt Renwick
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
New: OBSERVING INSTRUCTION WITH A CURIOSITY MINDSET. The question isn't whether principals should observe classroom instruction, says coach Matt Renwick. "It's whether we can observe it with curiosity rather than judgment." #edusky @readbyexample.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/52832/observ...
middleweb.com
Principals Observing Instruction with a Curiosity Mindset
The question isn't whether principals should observe classroom instruction, says Renwick. "It's whether we can observe it with curiosity rather than judgment."
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The phrase "design for the edges" is about creating more inclusive and welcoming spaces for all students. It asks that we think not about what the average person needs, but what people at the margins need. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
Design for the Edges
Strategies for Supporting Unique Readers and Writers
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
When a school struggles, do staff blame poverty? Attendance? "Those kids"? The story a school tells about itself shapes everything—and leaders are the chief storytellers. How to change the narrative: open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
The data won't change overnight, but the narrative can shift today - from 'these kids can't' to 'here's what we're learning works.'"
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Two things students want, need, and appreciate when at school: 1. Teachers/staff care about them. 2. Teachers/staff expect great things of them. #pbisforum
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Reading screeners and diagnostics are lagging data. They are a product of a) how engaged students are as readers and b) how they see themselves as readers. Isolated skill-based interventions for students ignores the root cause of why they are not succeeding as readers.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Three measures of a reader
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
AI-assisted reading comprehension
Claude's response to my request for a character and theme map between two of David Mitchell's novels
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
One of the best ways to recommend a book is to be seen reading the book. Other readers want to know what has you so engaged. You are leveraging FOMO in a healthy way.
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Reposted by Matt Renwick
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
MW Substack 032: ALL KINDS OF LEADERSHIP Has keeping our schools on course ever been more challenging? We've gathered some of our most insightful and encouraging articles about school & teacher leadership. #edusky #edleadershipchat @readbyexample.bsky.social middleweb.substack.com/p/mw-substac...
middleweb.substack.com
MW Substack 032: All Kinds of Leadership
Has keeping our schools on course ever been more challenging? We've gathered some of our most insightful and encouraging articles about school and teacher leadership.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Four Questions to Challenge Your Reading Beliefs open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #edchat
open.substack.com
Four Questions to Challenge Your Reading Beliefs
On the importance of putting your literacy ideology to the test
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
"Research indicates that kids who are exposed to more than two hours a day of recreational screen time have worse working memory, processing speed, attention levels, language skills and executive function than kids who are not." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Sketchnotes from Crucial Influence training this week. Excited to bring these ideas to regional schools!
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
The Leadership-Reading Brain open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... Is literacy a tool for empowerment or oppression in your school? #edusky #edchat #cpchat #educoach
open.substack.com
The Leadership-Reading Brain
Is literacy a tool for empowerment or oppression in your school?
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
What if principals spent only 10% of their classroom time evaluating teachers and 90% actually coaching and supporting instruction? Imagine the influence. #cpchat #educoach
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Without Trust, Professional Learning is Just Compliance Theater open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
Without Trust, Professional Learning is Just Compliance Theater
Including a simple staff activity that immediately builds trust
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
The news cycle wants us anxious and reactive. An antidote: read. Just wrote about why books matter during challenging times. Reading is balm, habit, and resistance. When we say yes to books, we say no to urgency traps. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #elachat #cpchat #educoach
open.substack.com
Why We Should Read During Challenging Times
A Case for Books as Balm, Healthy Habit, and Resistance
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
"the pursuit of wisdom is impossible without engaging with (and challenging) uncomfortable ideas." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/o... via @nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Naval Academy Canceled My Lecture on Wisdom
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
"What I've learned is that it's easy to keep busy in just about any job. What's difficult is to discern what I should be focused on at the moment while ignoring everything else that I've committed to or been assigned." @middleweb.bsky.social #edusky
Productive Presence: Cultivating focus by being aware, being thoughtful, and being aligned.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Are you not seeing the promised results from a recent literacy initiative? Try this journaling activity: Fill in the blank: “We can work smarter and not harder by _____________.” Keep writing with this line thinking until you arrive at a unique insight. Share it with a trusted colleague. #edusky
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Urge Congress: Save Public Media protectmypublicmedia.org/rsc-calls/ @baldwin.senate.gov @markpocan.bsky.social
protectmypublicmedia.org
Urge Congress: Save Public Media
Save your local stations. Call your Members of Congress now!
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
“If you don’t read fiction,” Verghese said, “my considered medical opinion is that a part of your brain responsible for active imagination atrophies.” news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
news.harvard.edu
Verghese tells an American story at Commencement — Harvard Gazette
Physician, novelist underlines immigrants’ contributions to Harvard and the nation, urges grads to show courage in face of hardship.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Reading is the main event in schools, often at the expense of writing. I think part of this comes from the perception that reading is easy to measure, at least from a phonics-first approach. Conversely, writing presents as more of a process and involves the inherent messiness of creativity.
open.substack.com
Striking a Balance Between Reading and Writing
What I learned from a week of no reading
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
There’s no science of reading without the art of teaching readers.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Feedback is most effective when it goes both ways. When everyone positions themselves first as a learner and are willing to regularly examine the beliefs they hold about literacy instruction, collective practice improves. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #edchat #cpchat #educoach
open.substack.com
Bridging the Belief-Practice Divide in Literacy Instruction
Three steps to help teachers align their values with their instruction
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
10 Things I Learned About Trust as a Literacy Leader open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
10 Things I Learned About Trust as a Literacy Leader
Including a downloadable 10-point reference guide for paid subscribers
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
The #1 thing teachers want from leaders is to be recognized and affirmed for their work. They also want feedback on how to improve. But trust and relationships between the leader and the teacher must first be established. #edusky
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
School leaders being present in classrooms is part of a healthy accountability system for everyone, including and especially principals. It's not about supervision—it's about building genuine trust through thoughtful, consistent engagement. #cpchat #edusky open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
The Trust Paradox: Why Great Principals Are Present, Not Absent
Part 1 of a Two-Part Series
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Teachers as Leaders: Five Ways to Create the Conditions for Change #edusky #educhat #educoach #cpchat Part 1: choiceliteracy.com/article/teac... Part 2: choiceliteracy.com/article/teac...
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
“At the end of the day, there is an end of the day. Thus choosing when to care less versus when to care more lies at the heart of living an efficient but fulfilling daily life.” - John Maeda, The Laws of Simplicity
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Stop trying to fix teachers. Start giving them the tools, the time, and the support to thrive. #edusky
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Three ways I see school leaders using A.I. to augment their work: - Virtual assistant - outsource basic tasks - Thought partner - explore possible decisions, promote reflection - Data analyst - synthesize lots of info to find patterns to inform school improvement What are your thoughts? #edusky
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Considering a move from teaching to administration? Here are a few considerations (from a long time administrator) as you pursue this rewarding career: open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #cpchat
open.substack.com
Should I become an administrator?
Some thoughts for potential leaders from a former principal
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Reposted by Matt Renwick
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Really good thought piece for folks asking themselves this question. "Administration is not just a position move within education. It’s an entire shift in role, almost another profession." #edusky
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Should I become an administrator? open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #cpchat Administration is not just a position move within education. It’s an entire shift in role, almost another profession.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
A student's engagement with reading is an outcome of several conditions teachers create in classrooms: - Voice and choice in what to read - Access to high quality literature - Time to read + support - A community of readers The common thread: Trusting and empowering readers
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
"Factories in China produce nearly 80 percent of all toys and 90 percent of Christmas goods sold in America." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/b...
nytimes.com
Retailers Fear Toy Shortages at Christmas as Tariffs Freeze Supply Chain (Gift Article)
Toy makers and stores are freezing holiday orders, predicting shortages and higher prices. Some are consulting bankruptcy lawyers, fearing their firms won’t survive.
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Reposted by Matt Renwick
Corwin @corwinpress.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Low-tech meets high impact! Discover how The Coach's Notebook by @readbyexample.bsky.social can transform your coaching practice with something as simple as a notebook. Learn more on #CorwinConnect: ow.ly/T3mX50VmkTO
ow.ly
A Low-Tech, High-Impact Tool for Coaches - Corwin Connect
Adopting a bullet journal approach helps coaches, school leaders, and educators manage professional tasks, reflect on their growth, and support their practice with clarity and focus.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
For the last four weeks, I have been sending out a "Monday Morning Memo": a brief strategy email to help literacy leaders start their week on a positive note. Takes 1-2 min. to read. This week: Be a Noticer, Not a Judger open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #cpchat
open.substack.com
The Monday Morning Memo #4: Be a Noticer, Not a Judger
April 21, 2025
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Tomorrow I will be sharing about the best time for school leaders to start visiting classrooms here: readbyexample.substack.com (hint: it's not next school year) #edusky #educhat #cpchat
readbyexample.substack.com
Read by Example | Matt Renwick | Substack
A newsletter for literacy leaders and teachers. Click to read Read by Example, by Matt Renwick, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
My wife's love language (mine too): "Which book would you like me to buy for you?"
Book shelf and Barnes & Noble
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
The Monday Morning Memo #3: Auditing Your Classroom Instruction open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
open.substack.com
The Monday Morning Memo #3: Auditing Your Classroom Instruction
April 14, 2025
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Less Teaching, More Learning open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong? www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/m... Key takeaways: - Medication reduces symptoms but doesn't improve learning. - Environment and context are just as important as medication. - The benefits of medication don't typically last over time.
nytimes.com
Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong? (Gift Article)
With diagnoses at a record high, some experts have begun to question our assumptions about the condition — and how to treat it.
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
#amwriting
"Don't be afraid to trim your work. Learn to love editing and get cutting. You rarely hear complaints from readers that a book was too short." - Bob Doto, A System for Writing
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Matt Renwick @readbyexample.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
"The best intervention is a good book." - Stephanie Harvey #edusky
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