The role of a reading/literacy specialist is to support and extend the reading instruction that is occurring in the classroom. They have many functions at a school site, from individualized reading instruction, assessing students' reading strengths and needs, and taking a leadership role by working with all professionals in the educational community. In addition, a reading specialist should collaborate with the classroom teacher to implement a reading program that will meet the reading needs of all students. According to Bean (2015), “Much has been learned about how to teach reading to all students, yet the evidence is clear: there are students in schools at all levels (PreK-12) who are not learning to read or who are reading below grade-level expectations.” (pg.1.) Those students that are struggling with learning how to read will require additional instruction in reading by someone who has been professionally prepared for such a task.