When Niles City Schools educators saw K–3 literacy scores for the 2015–2016 school year received a “D” grade on the State of Ohio report card, district leaders considered several programs to improve early literacy skills.
To address the issue, the district served as one of eight early literacy pilot districts in the Ohio Department of Education’s State Systemic Improvement Plan, designed to strengthen evidence-based early literacy (pre-K–third grade) instruction for students.
Committed to systemic change while improving learning for every student, administrators recognized the key to raising literacy success was ensuring teachers had the knowledge and confidence to teach reading. The state chose Lexia® LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), a comprehensive professional learning suite designed to provide early childhood and elementary educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading.
At Niles City Schools, four administrators, 13 kindergarten teachers, 11 first grade teachers, 12 second grade teachers, 18 third grade teachers, and one speech pathologist received professional development and coaching in LETRS. For nine months, participants spent 60 hours learning through face-to-face trainings, print and online instruction, and classroom application projects.
Rather than telling the educators what to teach, LETRS training gave educators the how, what, and why of literacy acquisition to improve instructional practice and achieve long-term systemic change in literacy instruction.
The results showed remarkable literacy gains.
- 53% of kindergarten students were reading at or above grade level at the start of the school year. That figure soared to 89% by the end of the school year.
- 38% of first grade students read at or above grade level. By the end of the year, 59% were reading at or above grade level.
- 61% of second grade students started the year reading at or above grade level. By the end of the year, 73% were reading at or above grade level.
To learn more about how LETRS transformed literacy at Niles City Schools, read the case study.
A Cambium Learning® Group Brand
