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Central Unified reports double‑digit third‑grade gains after LETRS training; district cites 17‑point SBAC jump in cohort
Summary
Interim Superintendent Dr. O’Brien reported district ELA gains and pronounced third‑grade improvement tied to LETRS (science of reading) teacher training: third‑grade students in LETRS classrooms rose from 27% to 44% proficiency on SBAC, a 17‑point gain; district ELA rose to 44.3% overall.
Interim Superintendent Dr. O’Brien told the Central Unified Board of Trustees on June 24 that the district’s multi‑year focus on early literacy and a phonics‑based approach (LETRS training) coincided with measurable improvements on state and local reading assessments.
“Our district is now at 44.3% in ELA,” Dr. O’Brien said, reporting district SBAC results and calling out strong third‑grade gains. She said third‑grade students in classrooms led by teachers trained in LETRS moved from 27% proficiency to 44% this school year — a 17‑point increase she called “unprecedented growth.” “That is significant,” Dr. O’Brien said.
District data shown to trustees included multiple internal metrics: an I‑Ready summary that the district said rose overall 3.52% from 2023–24 to 2024–25, while students in first‑through‑third‑grade classrooms with LETRS‑trained teachers rose 7.6% on that metric; students in non‑LETRS classrooms rose 1.4%. Dr. O’Brien told the board that the cohort comparisons are not strictly apples‑to‑apples but that the pattern is notable.
Dr. O’Brien also summarized site‑level highlights: Madison Elementary’s third graders rose 11% in ELA and the school finished the year with zero suspensions; Halton Kearny’s third graders rose 11%; Steinbeck rose 16% in third‑grade ELA; River Bluff rose 14%; Roosevelt Elementary’s third graders rose 18%. The district noted that 86% of TK teachers, 67% of kindergarten teachers, 90% of first‑grade teachers, 80% of second‑grade teachers and 50% of third‑grade teachers are either trained in LETRS or in the LETRS cohort.
Dr. O’Brien credited the sustained professional learning investment and the work of 84 teachers who completed LETRS coursework this year. Trustees praised the results and asked staff to continue monitoring multiple measures beyond SBAC, and to provide principals and site councils with clear local data to guide School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) decisions.
District leaders said the literacy work is part of a broader strategy that includes multi‑tiered academic supports, reading coaches, and targeted interventions for English learners and other student groups; those items are reflected in the district’s adopted LCAP.
