Board OKs renewed Hill for Literacy contract; district to pay $437,000

The Bridgeport Board of Education voted to approve a renewed partnership with the Hill for Literacy for the 2025–26 school year, a contract the superintendent’s office said would cost the district $437,000 of an $801,000 total project.

The contract, presented as a joint venture with the Connecticut State Department of Education, will fund districtwide K–6 literacy supports, training and coaching for teachers and principals, and family engagement tied to classroom instruction. Dr. Hughes, a district staff member who introduced the item, said the state will cover $364,000 of the total and the district will cover $437,000. The superintendent’s office also reported $47,000 of Hill-led training already funded for summer work tied to the district’s early reading program.

Nut graf: The Hill for Literacy partnership restores a literacy-coaching model that district staff and teachers said they wanted returned after the organization’s earlier work in 2021–23. The board passed the contract so the Hill can continue summer and school-year coaching meant to support adoption and implementation of the district’s core materials and intervention programs.

Board members asked how the Hill measures progress and whether facilitators are employees or subcontractors. Darcy Burns, a Hill representative, said the Hill uses the district’s assessment tools—“particularly your DIBELS assessment, is your universal screener and progress monitoring tool”—and organizes data at district, school, grade, classroom and individual levels to track improvement. Burns also said the facilitators are Hill employees based in Connecticut.

Board member Akisha Casimir pressed about subcontracting and measurement of student improvement. Burns replied the Hill’s facilitators are employees of the Hill and that coaching and implementation work are tied to the science of reading, the Wonders core reading materials and targeted interventions. The presentation said the Hill will support summer school teachers and coaches who already received training.

The motion to accept the program was made by Board member Robert Traver. The vote carried; one board member opposed (Akisha Casimir). District officials said they had surveyed principals and teachers ahead of the request and found broad support for reinstating the Hill’s K–6 model.

The contract will start in time for summer programming already under way and will continue into the 2025–26 school year, with ongoing implementation coaching tied to the district’s existing instructional materials and data systems.

Ending: The board’s approval means Hill-led trainings and coaching will continue through next school year; district staff said they plan to monitor implementation with the district’s universal screener and report back to committees as work proceeds.