Spotlight North Carolina: One95 Literacy Ecosystem takes root
Overview
District Snapshot:
- ~5,500 students in Edgecombe County Public Schools
- 70% minority enrollment district-wide
- 69% of students participate in the free and reduced lunch program
- 4.9% of students are ELL
Coker-Wimberly Elementary Snapshot:
- ~230 students
- 93% minority enrollment
- 99% of student body is considered eligible for free and reduced lunch
GW Carver Elementary
- ~572 students
- 56% minority enrollment
- 99% students eligible for free and reduced lunch
Edgecombe County Public Schools are located in Tarboro—approximately an hour and 15 minutes east of Raleigh, in rural Eastern North Carolina. Dr. Lutashia Dove, the elementary and preschool director for the district, has been there about 2 years. With a passion for literacy and a strong conviction that every child deserves access to quality reading instruction and quality literature, she has taken this mission and made it top priority for her schools.
With just under 6000 students pre-K-12, there are six elementary schools in Edgecombe County. Currently, two elementary schools are piloting 95 Percent Group materials: Coker-Wimberly, a pre-K-5 elementary school, and GW Carver Elementary, also pre-K-5.
Knowing they needed to address both their core literacy and intervention needs, these two schools in Edgecombe county are using a full line-up of resources from the One95 Literacy Ecosystem™. Not only does it provide evidence-based reading instruction across instructional Tiers 1, 2, and 3, it also offers teachers district-wide a common language with which to evaluate, understand, and instruct according to each student’s needs.
Coker-Wimberly—their One95 Literacy Ecosystem story
Coker-Wimberly prides itself on being part of the Innovation Zone of the North Side, partnering in innovation with their feeder schools, Phillips Middle and North Edgecombe High School, as part of a national Opportunity Culture movement, with goals of high growth and higher-order thinking skills for all students.
In September of 2023, the teaching and learning team at Coker-Wimberly implemented 95 Phonics Core Program®, a Tier 1, core phonics program. In January of 2024, they followed with Tier 2 intervention programs including 95 Phonics Level Library™, and 95 Phonics Chip Kits™.
The results? In Dr. Dove’s words, “almost a year later with 95 Percent Group and I’m tickled about it, and hoping that we can continue to move forward with it in more schools.”
In search of a stronger foundational program
When Dr. Dove began to dig deep in the reading data, she knew they had to do something different for foundational skills—both for students and teachers. Dr. Dove believes that what they were using previously wasn’t strong enough for teachers or for students. She asked around, looked at data, and spoke to teachers: “Are you seeing students grow?”
Then, Dove attended a conference where she saw a representative from 95 Percent Group speak about the resources they offer. “It makes sense,” she said. “It’s aligned with the science of reading. This is how children begin reading. This is what we’re missing.”
Access the full story now: What you’ll learn
Are you ready for more insights on how an entire district is growing with an aligned phonics program across instructional tiers. Download the full story and learn:
- Why it’s essential to have literacy curriculum thats aligned with the science of reading
- The importance of a step-by-step implementation plan for ensuring instructional fidelity
- How the embedded professional learning and coaching helped teachers fully understand each of the components and pacing of instruction
Watch now
Watch their success story, and share it with your colleagues!
