If speech therapy had a final boss, it would definitely be the R sound.
More villainous than Voldemort, more elusive than a parking spot at Target, and responsible for more tears than spilled juice boxes.
But Lucia Donia, a speech-language pathologist at Kirby's Mill Elementary in New Jersey, figured something out: you don't beat the villain by telling kids they're doing it wrong. Her confidence-first method gets her most non-verbal students to confident book fair speakers without destroying their self-esteem.
Turns out, you get real victory by building your heroes up—not by fixing them.
Here’s what’s on the dashboard this week:
Today’s Deep Dive: Right v. Wrong < New v. Old
Reading Rainbow: Scaffolds, AI chaos & the ‘gifted’ debate
From Our Desk: Digital rubrics and in-person events
Watch of the Week: Hello, Carol…
Partner Highlight: From “camera off” to showing up
Ditch the ‘right v. wrong’ way. Go with the ‘new v. old.’
Donia has figured out what many therapists miss: brilliant kids shouldn't have to sacrifice their self-esteem to fix their speech sounds.
Lucia Donia from Kirby's Mill Elementary figured out what most therapists miss: you don't fix speech problems by constantly telling brilliant kids they're doing it wrong.
Instead of the dreaded "right versus wrong" feedback that crushes spirits, Lucia helps her students with "the new way" versus "the old way" of making sounds. It’s the same lessons learned, but with zero shame.
The scope of this problem is bigger than most people realize. Approximately 1 in 12 students in the U.S. has had a disorder related to voice, speech, or language. That means in every classroom of 24 kids, you've probably got two brilliant minds trapped behind communication roadblocks.
To help students bulldoze through these roadblocks, here's her six-step confidence ladder that takes students from sound confusion to book fair stardom:
Step 1: Sound Detective Work: Students learn to hear the difference between their current sound and the target without any judgment. Encourage awareness.
Step 2: Solo Sound Mastery: Practice the new sound in isolation until it feels natural.
Step 3: Word-Level Integration: Apply the sound to actual words, then sentences.
Step 4: Academic Bridge Building: Practice with real classroom content and curriculum materials.
Step 5: Real-World Conversations: Transfer skills to genuine, unscripted talking.
Step 6: Student Partnership Power: Kids track their own progress using only plus signs (e.g. circles mean "needs practice," not "failure.")
By using her method, Lucia found her students actually get excited about their lessons. Some even start asking, "How many circles did I get this time?"
Rather than competing with arbitrary standards, they feel empowered and motivated by competing with themselves.
Now, students who once used to hide from the fear of speaking end up volunteering for book fair read-aloud. One of Lucia’s students went from anxious tears during progress meetings to genuine tears of excitement about her improvements since first grade.
The moral of the story here isn’t just about finding speech therapy. It's proof that confidence and competence make pretty great teammates when you stop treating kids like broken things that need fixing.
The Scaffolding Superstars Strike Again: Teachers are using sentence-level scaffolds to help English learners build independence. Consider it as a “helpful narrator voice” that eventually shuts up, so the main character can live.
AI Walks Into a School (No, This Isn't a Joke): Educators are trying to balance AI's promise with its pitfalls. We’re talking AI as Sherlock Holmes’s Dr. Watson, not the kid doing the group project while everyone else free-rides.
The Great Gifted Label Debate Continues: Students are weighing in on whether we should keep calling kids "gifted.” Hey, you wouldn’t love being categorized like Spotify playlists. Neither do kids.
Scripts Don't Have to be Shackles: Teachers are finding freedom within structured curricula, proving that creativity and compliance can actually be roommates (who occasionally get along).
Product Releases: Question-Level Rubrics in Lessons
Teachers can now see clear, question-level rubrics directly within lessons. These rubrics outline expectations and point values in a way that supports everyday grading and aligns to standards, all in one place.
Upcoming Events: Catch us IRL at
MSBA Annual Leadership Conference, January 15-16 2026 (MN)
AASCD Winter Conference, January 25-27 2026 (AL)
COSA Winter Conference, January 27-28 2026 (OR)
ACSA Superintendent’s Symposium January 28-30 2026 (CA)
Our pick of the week: Pluribus (Apple TV)
Why We’re Obsessed: The latest mind-bender from Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan has everyone on Reddit staying up past their bedtime trying to figure out what's really happening. It's got that perfect mix of mystery and science that makes you question everything while somehow still wanting more. Our money is on teen students casually explaining it between classes like, “Oh yeah, it’s about epistemology…”
Recommended lesson integration:
Critical thinking and hypothesis formation (Grades 6-12): Students practice forming theories based on limited evidence, just like trying to figure out what's really happening to humanity.
Ethics and moral dilemmas (Grades 9-12): Explore questions about happiness, free will, and whether world peace is worth losing individuality. It’s perfect for those deep philosophical discussions that make teenagers feel smart.
Science fiction literature connections (Grades 6-12): Compare themes with classics like The Giver and Brave New World for students who think “dystopia” is just a fancy word.
Psychology of group behavior (Grades 9-12): Examine hive mind dynamics and what makes humans, well, human (and we’ll tell ya… it’s probably not our cooking skills 👀)
Eduprize Schools (Gilbert, AZ): For 30 years, Eduprize has been one of Arizona’s longest-running A+ Excelling charter schools. As they looked to modernize their curriculum and expand both in-person and virtual learning, they partnered with Subject to revamp content, increase engagement, and support attendance across campuses. This video offers a behind-the-scenes look at how their virtual program is coming to life, told through the voices of their students.
Thinking about launching a virtual program but don’t know where to start? Reach out 📩 [email protected]
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Thank you for joining us for another edition of On The Subject. We’ll see you again in a week, with more stories from the hallways.
The Subject Team
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