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Board hears progress on statewide literacy efforts: pilot 'Foundations' course, dyslexia services and LETRS training
Summary
State and nonprofit presenters described a multi-pronged effort — a Foundations professional learning pilot, scholarships, dyslexia therapy and several training pathways (LETRS, Read Redefined, Phillips Fundamental) — aiming to expand structured literacy instruction and credentialing for Kansas educators.
State Board members received a multi-part briefing on Aug. 13 on Kansas literacy initiatives, including a pilot of the Foundations course (approved for the board's Seal of Literacy), private nonprofit dyslexia services, and multiple professional-development pathways for classroom teachers and specialists.
Dr. Cynthia Lane, representing the Kansas Board of Regents, and Dr. Carolyn Carlson, a Washburn University professor who led the Foundations pilot, described the course as knowledge-based, supported by coaching and organized around application. "The blueprint for literacy is about one thing. The main thing: teach every child to read," Lane told the board, adding that Foundations is "knowledge based ... community of practice ... application ... and coaching." Lane said 35 Kansas educators completed the pilot in July and that scholarships are available for an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 licensed educators statewide.
Carlson, who led a 16-week pilot embedded in Topeka USD 501, said the course combined in-person cohort meetings, weekly coaching and classroom application assignments. "The coach wasn't evaluating anything. They were a support to help the educator apply the information that they were learning in the course," Carlson said. Pilot teachers reported immediate classroom changes, improved confidence and examples of measurable growth in student reading, the presenters said.
KSDE and private providers also described other training pathways. Janine Phillips, founder of Phillips Fundamental Learning Center, described an intensive Alphabetic Phonics (Alphabetic Phonics/Cox) teacher-training and clinical program aimed at students with severe to profound dyslexia. Phillips said her center has assessed thousands of children and trained hundreds of instructors and therapists; she highlighted a multi-site pilot that reported substantial early gains for participating kindergarten and first-grade students.
"Dyslexia is not about reading backwards," Phillips said, summarizing a frequent misconception. She presented evaluation data from a charitable pilot showing students in the bottom percentile moved toward or met national norms after daily small-group instruction under the program.
Two private trainers, Jane Hayes and Amy Taylor of Read Redefined, outlined a coaching-centered approach that pairs structured literacy content with live, synchronous instruction and in-class application. They emphasized that teachers need more than curricular materials: they need coached practice, progress monitoring, and tools to translate intervention gains back to the regular classroom. Read Redefined said its courses map to International Dyslexia Association knowledge-and-practice standards and provide pathways to additional certification.
KSDE also updated the board on statewide LETRS implementation (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling). Dr. Curtis explained LETRS is an evidence-based, curriculum-agnostic professional learning system intended to give classroom teachers a common knowledge base and shared language for instruction. KSDE said it is training local LETRS facilitators so districts can offer the facilitated, cohort-based instruction and local coaching needed to sustain practice.
KSDE staff reported substantial current engagement: as of a recent snapshot, thousands of Kansas educators had used LETRS licenses or were participating in facilitator-led cohorts (KSDE gave figures showing administrators, early childhood educators and over 12,000 educator license uses for LETRS materials, though KSDE staff noted numbers continue to change as cohorts restart). A KSDE staff member covering licensure also reported 851 Kansas educators had taken the reading subtest pathway for the Seal of Literacy and 725 had passed the subtest; 463 of those passers held Kansas licenses.
Board members asked about access for special populations, including students at the State Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Dr. Lane said KSDE would follow up to explore adaptations. Several board members urged KSDE and training providers to pursue sustained funding; Lane said current scholarship and ESSER resources cover training for this school year and that she and partners plan legislative outreach to support continuation.
Presenters and board members highlighted coaching as the central feature that differed across training options: cohort learning, non-evaluative coaching, and local facilitator networks were all described as essential to translating knowledge into classroom practice.
