The Reading Reality
Nearly 1.5 million U.S. fourth-graders are performing below Basic in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
“Among our nation’s high school seniors, we’re now seeing a larger percentage of students scoring below the NAEP Basic achievement level in mathematics and reading than in any previous assessment.”
Clarice Jackson is redefining the national conversation on literacy.
Get pre-sale updates, launch news, and early access information.
Author. Literacy expert. Dyslexia advocate. Institutional founder. National voice.
Now building momentum for the pre-sale of her book Literacy as Exodus.
Book Clarice for Your Next Event Statistic source: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The Stakes
Literacy changes everything.
This is not just about reading scores. Literacy shapes opportunity, identity, educational access, and the long-term outcomes of a life. When children are not taught to read effectively, the cost follows them — into every classroom, every job application, every conversation about their future.
The future is not fixed.
What literacy shapes
- Opportunity
- Identity
- Educational access
- Long-term outcomes
Literacy is excellence
Your Guide
A mother’s question became a national and international literacy mission.
For more than two decades, Clarice L. Jackson has pressed one demanding proposition: children deserve to be taught to read effectively. She authored the 2014 NAACP national dyslexia resolution, serves on the International Dyslexia Association’s Definition Steering Committee, and founded the Institute for Black Literacy, the Black Literacy Matters® Conference, and Voice Advocacy Center.
Featured by NPR, Fox News, Roland Martin Unfiltered, and The 74.
National Policy • Literacy Science • Family Advocacy • International Work
The Book
Literacy as Exodus
The Blueprint for Reclaiming Educational Will
Clarice’s book brings decades of advocacy, policy work, and literacy science into one urgent argument: teaching every child to read effectively is the way out — for children, families, and the systems that serve them.
Lady Wisdom Press · Available December 8, 2026
Why December 8
12.08
1863 · 2026
A release date chosen on purpose.
On December 8, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. Literacy as Exodus releases on December 8, 2026 — marking that moment to connect the book’s themes of Reconstruction, rebuilding, education, and educational will.
Reconstruction did not begin or end on a single day. The date is a marker, not a claim — a reminder that rebuilding a nation has always depended on who is taught to read.
Lady Wisdom Press · Available December 8, 2026
Speaking
Bring the conversation to your audience.
Clarice L. Jackson speaks nationally and internationally on literacy, dyslexia, Educational Will, Black literacy, family advocacy, institution building, reading science, and the relationship between literacy and freedom.
Her presentations draw from more than two decades of advocacy and the ideas developed in Literacy as Exodus.
Book Clarice for Your Next EventSpeaking
Bring Clarice into the room.
Invite a nationally and internationally recognized literacy advocate to challenge your district, board, conference, university, or organization to move from knowledge to action.
Book Clarice for Your Next EventLearn. Teach. Advocate. Act.
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