Reading lab staff say LAP intervention yields measurable growth but capacity limited by staffing

Reading intervention staff described the district’s LAP (Learning Assistance Program) lab reading model, outcomes from the 2024–25 school year and constraints caused by staffing reductions.

Lindsay Riolo, a reading intervention specialist at Pleasant Valley Primary School, told the board LAP provides “targeted evidence-based support to our K–4 struggling readers” and that each primary school has one certificated reading specialist supported by three to five paraeducators. Julie Hatcher, reading intervention specialist at Yackel Primary, explained the program’s approach — data-driven entry/exit criteria, frequent progress monitoring and structured phonics instruction — and presented outcome figures from last year.

Hatcher reported the district served 851 primary students in LAP last year (about 24% of primary enrollment) and said 496 of those students — 58% — made one to two or more years of growth on reading assessments; overall, she said, 94% of students in the program showed positive growth. Staff said group sizes range from one to five students, determined by need, and that paraeducators and certificated specialists deliver explicit phonics instruction.

Board members asked whether volunteers or retired educators could expand capacity. Staff said volunteers can support “reading-buddy” activities and classroom-level literacy but cautioned that the highly structured interventions used for the district’s most at-risk readers require trained paraeducators and certificated specialists and are not readily replaced by untrained volunteers.

Staff said they regularly turn students away for LAP interventions because of limited staffing and that restoring positions would allow the program to serve more students. The district will include reading interventions in the Nov. 10 levy discussion.