Flagler presents revised CERF reading plan, adds VPK targets and coaching commitments

District literacy leaders presented the Flagler County School Board with the district’s annual Comprehensive Evidence-based Reading Plan (CERF) on June 24, outlining targets and procedures intended to increase reading proficiency from VPK through grade 12.

"The CERF became in statute in 2000 as a requirement for districts to notate how we were following state statute," Kristin Frank, the district’s elementary literacy and teaching-and-learning specialist, said as she introduced the plan. The presentation described goals, evidence-based interventions, coaching roles and family-notification procedures required by state law.

Why it matters: the plan sets measurable grade-level goals for 2025–26 based on 2024–25 results. Frank said third-grade proficiency rose from 61% to 67% in 2024–25 — the highest Flagler has seen since 2017 — and the district intends to increase proficiency goals by 2 percentage points where targets were met, and maintain or raise targets where they were not met. The CERF now includes VPK measures; staff plan to increase the share of children "at or above benchmark" in VPK to 88% while keeping students in urgent intervention at about 3%.

Key elements: staff outlined the district’s use of the Just Read Florida coaching model, the MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) decision tree for intervention, and the SERP (state-approved evidence-based resources) that guide tiered supports. Jamie Everidge, secondary ELA curriculum specialist, described district efforts to train content-area teachers to support reading skills across subjects. Frank and Everidge said literacy coaches will sign an "assurance agreement" with the school and district to define duties and prioritized time in classrooms.

Family notification and dyslexia support: the district described a triangulation process for identifying significant reading deficiencies — using STAR, FAST and teacher-administered screenings — and a required notification process that informs families of intervention plans, resources about dyslexia and options such as the New Worlds Reading scholarship and book delivery system. "The family is involved with what the data is showing, as well as what we plan on doing about it," Frank said.

Board questions and next steps: board members asked about major challenges; staff said early gaps (especially in first and second grades) and remediation for older students with persistent gaps are the greatest hurdles. Staff committed to returning with requested enrollment and gap-origin data at the board’s 3 p.m. July meeting and to continue implementing professional development (including science-of-reading coursework for administrators and free reading-endorsement classes for teachers).

Ending: literacy leaders said they will continue monthly progress monitoring with families for students receiving intervention and that the district will include its charter school’s plan (Imagine School at Town Center) as an attachment before submission to DOE.