Angela Gabbard, district literacy coach, told the Madison County Board of Education on Oct. 16 that district teachers have begun using the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) curriculum and strategies to strengthen foundational reading skills.

Gabbard described structured literacy work — phonemic awareness and phonics — and said she attended UFLI training to support teachers. After visiting a school already using UFLI, the district ran a summer training and has teachers across buildings using UFLI for small groups and, in some cases, Tier 1 classroom instruction.

"None of the three of us had any boots on the ground using UFLI, but the research behind it is very promising," Gabbard said. She described modeling lessons in classrooms, coaching teachers after the lesson and acknowledging that implementation can be uneven: "sometimes it's a little rough, and sometimes it's ugly, but the classroom teacher and I debrief to talk about what was successful and how we can make changes to improve those lessons."

Board members asked whether UFLI is limited to elementary grades; Gabbard said it is being used primarily as an intervention in elementary schools and that "every school is using it at least at the intervention system." She said she has personally taught lessons across the district and worked with teachers on follow-up.

Gabbard said teachers are sharing materials and that cross-school collaboration helps transient students receive consistent instruction as they move between buildings. The district plans to continue monitoring outcomes as implementation proceeds.