Dorchester 2 hears literacy implementation update showing teacher and student gains

Dorchester 2 Board of Trustees members on June 9 heard an elementary literacy update from district staff outlining districtwide implementation of LETRS professional development, new instructional materials and changes to early literacy assessments. Presenters said teacher assessment scores and several student early-literacy measures improved from fall to spring.

Jessica Farnsworth, a district staff member who led the presentation, said teachers completing LETRS units showed gains on district pre/post measures: “we went from a 63% score on the pre assessment to scoring 95% average score,” and educators who began later in the sequence moved from about 74% to 98% on those measures. Farnsworth said most K–3 teachers, including special education and multilingual teachers and some administrators, participated in LETRS coursework and that the state provides a stipend for completion that the district processes through state payment systems.

Farnsworth and colleagues described three pillars of the district’s approach: strengthening teacher knowledge through LETRS, adopting high‑quality instructional materials (UFLI Foundations for phonics and HMH Into Reading for core instruction), and using skills‑based assessments for progress monitoring. The district replaced the long‑used DRA diagnostic with a foundational skills survey (FSS) and continues to use aimsweb for timed benchmark screening.

District assessment results presented to the board included: kindergarten aimsweb “on track” rates rising from 42% in fall to 61% in spring; first‑grade aimsweb “on track” from 46% to 55%; kindergarten FSS on‑track from 14% at the end of quarter 1 to 73% at quarter 4; first‑grade FSS from 60% to 89%; and second‑grade FSS from 52% to 84%. Farnsworth said the FSS probes are untimed and that difference in administration likely explains why untimed scores are higher than the timed aimsweb fluency measures. She summarized broader measures by saying K–5 grade levels “either met or exceeded the target growth” on NWEA MAP measures this year.

Board members pressed on whether current K–2 gains will translate to third‑grade results under the state’s Read to Succeed accountability. Board member Lee asked about correlation with current third‑grade scores. Farnsworth replied that implementation is recent —“the new curriculum, this is the first year of the new curriculum”—and that the district will continue to track the cohort into third grade to evaluate the effect of the changes.

Farnsworth also highlighted operational challenges: the state manages stipend payments for LETRS completion and the district has spent staff time verifying forms and post‑test scores for payment eligibility. She said the district will focus next year on improving fluency (timed measures), ensuring teachers have time to apply LETRS learning in classrooms (for example, potentially adjusting small‑group time), and strengthening K–2 intervention consistency across schools through the district’s MTSS process.

Superintendent Doherty and other board members praised the alignment between law, curriculum, assessment and instruction. Farnsworth concluded, “the law is matching the curriculum, which is matching the assessment, which is matching my instruction, and that's what we need for our teachers,” and the board thanked staff for the work.

The presentation led to a discussion of monitoring interventions and of the state’s role in stipend payments; no formal action or vote was taken on instructional changes at the meeting.