For over 25 years, Ruth Schoenbach has developed programs, curricula, and professional development to help students become more successful readers and writers.

As Co-Director of WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI), Schoenbach has worked since 1995 to increase higher-level literacy learning for middle school, high school, and community college students.

Building on prior research and locally based research, Schoenbach and SLI Co-Director Cynthia Greenleaf developed the Reading Apprenticeship® instructional framework, which they describe in their best-selling WestEd book, Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms, 2nd Edition. This book has become the catalyst for an international movement of educators who use the Reading Apprenticeship framework in their local schools — from elementary schools to community colleges to teacher education courses.

In addition, Schoenbach has co-edited two other books — Building Academic Literacy: An Anthology for Reading Apprenticeship, and Building Academic Literacy: Lessons from Reading Apprenticeship Classrooms, Grades 6-12 — and has co-authored numerous articles appearing in professional journals.

In 2010, Reading Apprenticeship scored highest of all Investing in Innovation (i3) grants in the validation category for "scaling up" a proven educational approach. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, this five-year effort, known as RAISE, is supporting large-scale dissemination of Reading Apprenticeship disciplinary literacy professional development. RAISE will reach more than 2,500 high school content teachers and over 400,000 students in five states (California, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Utah). Schoenbach serves as Project Director.

Schoenbach received a BA in social sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, a Bilingual Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University, and an EdM in Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.