Here we take an in-depth look at the Wicomico School District in Maryland, whose leadership and literacy team worked together to transform their approach to reading instruction. They saw, in return, strong student improvement.

Glen Rose Independent school District is a small, rural district outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Families who live in the community are often drawn to what the district’s website calls small town values with big time vision. “We were seeing a real lack of growth in reading skills among students,” said Mehgan Shuelke, an educational diagnostician and reading specialist. “We knew something needed to change.”

Let's face it - our schools are facing unprecedented learning loss challenges as they head back to the classroom this spring to complete the 2020-2021 school year. This is not business as usual in our classrooms. Teachers need to act quickly using a diagnostic screener to assess student phonics gaps and provide intervention to meet these needs now and address the need for a rigorous Summer School phonics program.