Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Literacy Ufli topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sioux Falls reports strong early gains from UFLI reading pilot in kindergarten
Summary
District officials said preliminary data from the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) pilot shows kindergarten students in pilot schools outperforming control sites on early reading measures; board formally acknowledged the update by voice vote.
The Sioux Falls School District on Tuesday presented early evidence that a piloted literacy curriculum, the University of Florida Literacy Institute Foundations program (UFLI), produced substantial reading gains for participating kindergarten students.
District elementary curriculum coordinator Linda McDaniel told the Board of Education that results from five pilot schools showed 69 percent of pilot students meeting or exceeding benchmark on an external literacy assessment, versus 40 percent at two control schools. McDaniel said district assessments also showed pilot students outperforming peers on the district’s MAP reading fluency measures.
McDaniel framed UFLI as a research-based, systematic core reading program for kindergarten through second grade that relies on explicit scope-and-sequence instruction, decodable texts and ongoing professional learning. She said UFLI’s primary cost is professional development and coach time rather than high recurring materials costs.
"Teachers are seeing students grow in confidence as readers and writers," McDaniel said, and she credited elementary instructional coaches Abby Dawson and Sarah Hutchinson for frequent in-class support and coaching cycles.
Board members asked about rollout timing and scope. McDaniel and Superintendent Dr. Michael Nold (referred to in the meeting as Doctor Nold) said the program is currently focused on K–2 as a core curriculum and can be used in grades 3–5 for targeted interventions. The presenters said the district expanded training after positive kindergarten feedback and intends to scale implementation annually rather than all at once so coaches can support teachers effectively.
Board discussion emphasized the long-term stakes of early literacy. A board member said the district’s aim is to secure strong foundational skills by third grade; another asked whether an analogous program exists for math, and staff said the district is beginning a math study to identify evidence-based options.
The board then moved to formally acknowledge the UFLI pilot report; the motion carried on a voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded.
District materials presented to the board reported an 81 percent rate of kindergarten students at or above grade-level benchmarks in phonemic awareness and phonics/word recognition on the district’s spring reading-fluency assessment for the 2024–25 pilot cohort. McDaniel said the pilot’s external benchmark comparison used Acadience and internal MAP reading-fluency data to triangulate results.
The board thanked teachers and coaches and acknowledged the item for the record. Staff said the district will continue professional learning and expand UFLI implementation in subsequent years, with ongoing measurement of cohort outcomes.
