As a second-grade teacher in Silver City, NM, Evelyn Rodriguez works hard to help every student progress. Last year, for example, she had a special needs student who couldn’t read. By the end of the school year, he was almost at grade level.
Rodriguez attributes that success in no small part to her participation in the Structured Literacy for the Classroom program offered by Project ECHO.
“It’s just a big wow,” says Rodriguez, now in her second year with the online Structured Literacy program, this time as an engagement specialist guiding breakout room discussions with participants.
Launched in 2023, Structured Literacy ECHO engages K-3 teachers in New Mexico who have completed mandatory training in LETRS, a nationally recognized program for increasing teacher knowledge of structured literacy and the research behind it.
But although LETRS teaches the science of structured literacy, its main focus is on building knowledge, rather than on how to put this science-based theory into practice. For teachers who have completed the training, the problem becomes: How do I use this in my classroom?
More Than ‘Another Workshop’
That’s where Structured Literacy ECHO comes in.
“This is not just another professional development workshop,” says Susanna Odegaard, a first-grade teacher in Las Cruces. “Structured Literacy ECHO is a collaborative teamwork model that allows you to build knowledge using not just what know and not just what the presenter has presented, but what everybody in your group knows—and they’re not just people at your school or in your city but people all over the state who have similar challenges.”
Through expert guidance, group activities, reflection, and mentorship opportunities, Structured Literacy ECHO provides teachers with practical strategies and tools to implement what they learned from their LETRS training. The program also offers participants free access to invaluable resources such as the manual from the highly regarded University of Florida Literacy Institute.
To date, 205 New Mexico teachers have participated in Structured Literacy ECHO, benefitting an estimated 4,100 students.
Four teachers at the Sunset Hills Elementary School in Alamogordo, NM, discuss what they’ve learned in the Structured Literacy ECHO Program. Photo Credit: Hanna Negusie, Project ECHO, April 2025.
Reigniting a Love of Learning
Odegaard, who has continued her involvement with the program as a member of the planning team, believes that Structured Literacy ECHO has helped make her a better teacher. She says she’s more flexible and more willing to try new things—and she has resources she didn’t have before, including colleagues she can turn to for ideas and advice.
Rodriguez notes that one of the ECHO speakers encouraged teachers to focus not just on reading, but on classroom conversation as well. It’s made a big difference, she says. “The students are more engaged. It’s not a quiet classroom anymore. There’s a kind of hum.”
And the benefits of the ECHO program extend beyond reading, Odegaard says, to math, science, history, and more—because all those subjects involve reading.
Both Rodriguez and Odegaard recommend Structured Literacy ECHO to all teachers who have trained in LETRS. “I love Structured Literacy ECHO—I really do!” Odegaard says.
The Structured Literacy ECHO Program is free to all New Mexican educators. Register on our interest form to receive more information or email the ECHO Education team.
Featured Image: A group of students at the Christina Kent Early Childhood Center in Albuquerque, NM. Credit: Tara Memarian, Project ECHO, May 2023.
