The Moonshot Series Preview: A Powerful Launchpad for Collective Learning

We are absolutely action focused…when it comes to data, we really had to refine our approach. We’re not just satisfying curiosity or just pushing stuff out there because we’ve always done it. To us, if that data doesn’t lead to a change in adult action or confirmation that our adult actions are actually working, all we’re doing is satisfying that curiosity. And if we’re just satisfying curiosity, it’s taking time away from doing things that will actually change kids’ lives.

– Brian McMahon, Ph.D., School District of Indian River County, Florida

This October 7, 2025 Crucible of Practice Salon highlighted a new 10-episode series of videos, “The Moonshot Series,” produced by the Children’s Literacy Project in partnership with The Learning Alliance and focused on the work of Florida’s Indian River County Moonshot Moment GLR coalition.

Barbara Hammond of The Learning Alliance kicked off the session by describing the origin story that led to their Moonshot Moment goal of 90% reading proficiency for third-graders. During the session, participants viewed short clips from several episodes of the video series followed by conversation about each topic.

Brian McMahon, Ph.D., with the School District of Indian River County discussed issues raised in the episode clip, “Superintendent: The Necessity for Transformational Leadership.” He outlined the ways the district has made changes to ensure that their focus is on what children need to succeed, even when it requires adults and systems to change. McMahon also described the district’s “Data Com” meetings, illustrating how they track and use data.

During the discussion about the episode, “Moonshot School: A Learning Lab to Accelerate Impact in All of Our Schools,” The Learning Alliance’s Liz Remington explained the decision to have a Moonshot School. She shared how the partners selected a school in the district that was 20 points below the state average in third grade reading three years ago and infused the school with additional resources, with the goal of showing that high-yield strategies can be successful — even in schools where many of the children may start school with a need for extra support.

Finally, Debbi Arseneaux, also with The Learning Alliance, discussed the importance of integrating the arts into literacy strategies and offered a range of examples of how arts programs and activities build content knowledge and help young people better remember what they learn. She explained, “It’s about using the existing curriculum that our teachers are required to teach and then looking for opportunities to bring arts and creativity in so that the learning can come to life. Because again, this is how [students] get excited and how they hold onto this knowledge.”

The team also previewed their Wired to Learn Fast Summit happening in on February 11–12, 2026, in Vero Beach, Florida.