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Franklin teachers describe LETRS phonics training and district rollout of explicit reading instruction
Summary
Franklin Elementary teachers told the Pullman school board their LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional development is leading to more targeted small‑group phonics instruction and measurable progress on progress monitoring at the school.
Franklin Elementary core‑plus teachers told the Pullman Public Schools Board on Jan. 8 that district‑funded LETRS training is changing classroom practice and supporting targeted interventions for struggling readers.
Anne Lee and Sarah Davis, core‑plus teachers at Franklin, described the training—Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS)—as a multi‑month program that includes four days of in‑person sessions at the Educational Service District (ESD) and weekly online modules. "It's called LETRS training... It stands for Language Essentials For Teaching of Reading and Spelling," Anne Lee told the board, adding the course focuses on phonics, speech sounds and word recognition.
During a brief demonstration for board members, teachers outlined two research‑based frameworks they are using: the Simple View of Reading (which separates word recognition and language comprehension) and Scarborough's Reading Rope (which breaks reading into component strands). The presenters said those frameworks helped teachers move from blanket interventions to targeted plans that address each student's specific gaps in word recognition or language comprehension.
Sarah Davis said the Franklin team has shifted many classrooms toward explicit phonics instruction and monitored progress: "We're watching our progress monitoring data, and kids are making really good growth at Franklin," she said. The teachers reported a well‑attended pop‑up professional development session at Franklin that included 13 reading staff (certified and classified) and said additional PD on phonological awareness — including instruction on the 44 phonemes of English — is scheduled after the next LETRS unit.
Why it matters
District leaders fund LETRS for core‑plus teachers to strengthen early and remedial reading instruction, a common statewide initiative aimed at improving foundational literacy. Franklin's presenters told the board the training enabled more precise small‑group teaching and better progress monitoring.
What’s next
Franklin teachers said they will continue to offer pop‑up PD for staff, deliver explicit phonics instruction across classrooms, and bring further phonological awareness training to staff and district professional development days.
