Abstract
The state of reading proficiency in the United States has been under attack for decades. Attempts to improve reading achievement through instructional practices have taken the profession through the "reading wars" to "balanced-reading" to "evidenced-based" methods. Unfortunately, the professional development of reading teachers persists in isolating reading instruction from the language processes and core knowledge that learning to read must build upon. The paper that follows is a call to action-a rationale for bringing together knowledge and skills across professional preparation areas-to achieve more effective reading instruction in the hope of closing the national achievement gap.