Imagine classrooms where every child becomes a confident reader.
Joyful, evidence-based literacy that helps students—and teachers—thrive.
Literacy leader, international literacy consultant, author, and teacher educator devoted to joyful, evidence-based literacy learning — for twenty-five years and counting.
Joy and evidence belong in the same classroom.
Katie Egan Cunningham has spent more than two decades helping schools create literacy classrooms where every child can thrive. A former classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and instructional coach, she is now a Professor of literacy, Program Director of Teacher Education, international consultant, and sought-after speaker.
She is co-author of the bestselling Shifting the Balance Upper Elementary (with Jan Burkins and Kari Yates) and Start with Joy. As both an educator and the parent of a child with dyslexia, Katie brings professional expertise and personal conviction to her work — and the belief that every child deserves to become a confident reader, and every teacher deserves the tools and joy to make that possible.
“Joy can — and absolutely should — be taught, cultivated, observed, and reinforced. When we start with joy, the rest of literacy follows.”
Practical, joyful, evidence-based.
Written for busy classroom teachers — accessible guidance that honors the real journeys teachers are on.
Start with Joy
Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness
A guide for teachers to bridge social-emotional learning with literacy in intentional ways. Using seven pillars as a framework, Start with Joy helps teachers create literacy experiences that are purposeful, memorable, and joyful — full of classroom stories, research across fields, and teaching invitations to use right away.
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The EnCOURAGEments App
A daily companion to Seeds of EnCOURAGEment
Bite-sized encouragements for teaching and living with courage — a meditation in your pocket for every day of the year.
“A space created with educators in mind makes it feel personal and meaningful — a reminder that our well-being matters.”
Teacher · early reader
Joy: Oxygen for Learning
Why joy isn't a reward for learning but a condition of it — and how teachers can design classrooms where students breathe it in every day.
Read article →Efficacy in the Face of Adversity
What the pandemic taught us about teacher efficacy in crisis — and the role leaders play in cultivating the resilience that helps educators thrive.
Read article →Stories of Possibility: Cultivating Radical Hope
How recent children's literature can nurture radical hope and spark “wide-awake” encounters — moments of awareness and imagination — in turbulent times.
Read article →Professional learning teachers can feel.
From conference keynotes to multi-day workshops, Katie translates research into accessible classroom practice through sessions that are engaging, interactive, and grounded in the realities of teaching.
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Every school wants strong readers. Most are buried in programs, mandates, and competing initiatives.
Teachers feel the churn of constant change. Leaders carry the weight of holding it all together. Too often, the joy that drew us to this work — and the evidence that should anchor it — get lost in the shuffle.
Joy and evidence are not opposites. The most effective literacy classrooms are also the most joyful.
A path from scattered effort to joyful, evidence-based literacy.
Understand where students, teachers, and systems are now — the strengths, the gaps, and what's getting in the way.
Ground instruction in the evidence and a shared language — the science of reading and the science of joy, together.
Build teacher capacity side by side, with job-embedded coaching that changes daily classroom practice.
Create the rhythms and ownership that keep joy and evidence alive long after the work begins.
Partnership for the long work of change.
Beyond keynotes and workshops, Katie partners with schools and districts on the decisions and systems that shape literacy outcomes — from curriculum and program selection to leadership and sustained, job-embedded support.
Keynotes & Workshops
One-time inspiration and practical learning for your whole staff — energizing, evidence-based, and ready for Monday.
Consulting & Coaching
Ongoing, embedded support for sustained change — audits, planning, program selection, and side-by-side coaching.
Online Courses & Community
Flexible, joyful professional learning teachers can join from anywhere, on the topics that matter most right now.
Literacy Audits & Strategic Planning
A clear-eyed look at current practice, paired with a roadmap that aligns curriculum, instruction, and goals across the system.
Program Selection & Implementation
An evidence-based, district-ready lens for evaluating, choosing, and rolling out literacy programs with confidence.
Demonstration Lessons & Coaching
Side-by-side, job-embedded support — modeling, planning, and reflection rooted in your real classrooms and students.
Professional Learning & Workshops
Engaging, interactive sessions — from single workshops to multi-day series — that translate research into classroom practice.
Leadership Development
Building the capacity of coaches and leaders to set direction, build buy-in, and sustain literacy change over time.
Online Courses & Communities
Flexible, joyful professional learning teachers can join from anywhere — on the topics that matter most right now.
Explore online classes & courses →As an educator, consultant, and the parent of a child with dyslexia, I've seen literacy from both sides of the table. Those experiences have strengthened my belief that every child deserves instruction that is both evidence-based and deeply joyful.
The future of literacy can be both joyful and evidence-based.
Whether you're looking for professional learning, support with program selection and implementation, or simply a conversation about literacy, I'd love to hear from you.
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