9/19/2024

Grant Recipients Begin Their Lexia LETRS Journey

“Lexia® LETRS® was the missing piece in my science of reading journey,” educator Sherry DuBoff says. In February 2024, DuBoff was one of 120 recipients selected for the Lexia LETRS Science of Reading Grant. Lexia® selected K–5 educators from 26 states to receive access to the award-winning LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional learning program. 

For the next school year, join us as we follow the journey of this diverse group of passionate educators as they embark on bringing the science of reading into their classrooms. The grant recipients began their LETRS journey in spring 2024, and were invited to share their experiences so far including the challenges, triumphs, and heartfelt “aha” moments with students, teachers, administrators, and parents. 

How has your Lexia LETRS experience been so far?

Now beginning Unit 3 of the LETRS program, these educators are starting to gather insights from the materials and apply LETRS lessons in their classrooms to help every student with their literacy acquisition. 

Some grant recipients expressed their initial hesitation at starting the program—wondering if the significant time investment required would truly be worth the benefits gained from the units and sessions.

Having completed a literacy specialist program last year, educator Tiffany Holmes was unsure how much new information she would gain by starting LETRS. However, she’s been pleasantly surprised so far, “After completing Unit 3, I can confidently say that I have not only solidified my existing knowledge but also acquired a wealth of new insights, including the history of the English language and how allophonic variation affects student spelling,” she says. Holmes also initially had some trepidation about the workload of the program, “It seemed intimidating at first, but I was eager to begin,” she says. Now several units in, “I am pleased to say that I am currently ahead of schedule and have not experienced any stress regarding the completion of work,” she adds.

DuBoff was excited to complete the program after recognizing her previous education and professional development was missing evidence-based training. “I am Orton-Gillingham certified and trained, but Lexia LETRS is teaching me how the reading brain works and how to develop my students’ reading, spelling, and language skills, everything I should have learned in college,” she says. What she’s learning in LETRS will allow her to address a variety of needs in the classroom, “Lexia LETRS strengthens my knowledge of current research to deliver research-based best practices in instruction to meet ALL my students’ needs,” she says.

Dr. Shaime Cortes Vega agrees with DuBoff, “I believed wholeheartedly that it was the training I needed to fill in the gaps in my knowledge so that I could become a better literacy coach and reading teacher,” she says. She also highlights one of her favorite parts of the program so far—the phonology contrastive analysis in the back of the LETRS manual. Educators can reference this chart to better understand how pronunciation varies across different languages like English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and more. Cortes Vega says the chart “is great as a reading teacher because you can see why your ELL students are having difficulty with different sounds.”

So far, LETRS has been an empowering experience for these educators. “Cohorts range from beginning to seasoned educators, administrators, interventionists, and therapists, some with a Bachelor’s degree, some with Doctoral degrees, and some in between, yet everyone learns from each other and is empowered to make a change for the better,” DuBoff says. The grant recipients are eager to apply what they have learned as the school year begins. 

How are you making the time to study and get the most out of the program?

Through the Lexia LETRS Science of Reading Grant, educators have the opportunity to work through video sessions, guided activities, reading, live online professional learning sessions, office hours, and more. While the time commitment seemed daunting to some participants at first, they quickly discovered the flexible course delivery method makes LETRS highly manageable. 

“This program is phenomenal because it was clearly created with working teachers in mind,” Holmes says.“The layout of the online component is designed in a way that allows you to complete a unit or a session in its entirety, or you have the choice to complete smaller portions of the work that fit into your schedule.”

Flexibility continues beyond the course sessions—the live online professional learning sessions include several scheduling options to accommodate different time zones and schedules. “The five choices for online professional learning sessions makes it extremely convenient to fit into my schedule,” DuBoff says. Similarly, she found these sessions helpful for the overall coursework, ”Knowing that I have a scheduled online professional learning session helps me pace my studying so that I can be familiar with the material before we meet,” she says.

Grant recipients also spoke highly of the additional learning opportunities outside of the coursework and live sessions. Office Hours and summaries from these sessions and the Google Classroom make it easy to review lessons and get questions answered. An online group for participants provides extra support as well. “It is nice to know someone is always there to answer questions and offer support. I may be the only educator in my district participating in the LETRS training, but I have the support of the educators and Lexia® employees across the country,” DuBoff says.

Teachers need professional learning that is both rigorously evidence-based and accessible for the working professional, and LETRS covers both bases with its flexibility and numerous and varied opportunities to ask questions and review the material.

Off to a great start

“LETRS is empowering me to be a catalyst for change in my district,” DuBoff says about her LETRS experience so far. “I am excited to continue my LETRS journey and watch how it transforms my teaching in the upcoming school year.”

Stay tuned as we follow along with the diverse group of educators as they continue their LETRS journey. Witness the challenges, triumphs, and heartfelt moments as these dedicated teachers apply their LETRS lessons to help every student learn to read. From struggles to breakthroughs, this series brings an inspiring and insightful look at the vital role of professional development as educators shape the future.

The inaugural Lexia LETRS Science of Reading Grant invited educators from across the nation to apply for a chance to win no-cost access to the award-winning LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional learning. Since access to LETRS in these cases is outside the traditional district-supported rollout, these educators must rely on their own self-motivation to engage with the course material and fully benefit from the program. We applaud them for their dedication to transforming their teaching through the science of reading.