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School‑based CSI literacy coaches show early gains in reading measures, state says
Summary
The Department of Education described a federal‑funded rollout of school‑based literacy coaches in federally-identified CSI schools and reported early universal screener gains (about 15% average improvement) where coaches prioritized classroom-facing structured‑literacy work; a sample Atlanta school recorded double‑digit gains in a single year.
The Georgia Department of Education told legislators that school‑based literacy coaches placed in federally identified Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools are producing early, measurable gains in student reading outcomes.
Amy Denty, who directs the DOE literacy effort, reported that 57–60 school‑based CSI coaches were placed in CSI schools last year with federal funding, and that initial universal screener data showed an average improvement of about 15% from the beginning to the end of the year in the schools that participated. Denty summarized a consistent finding: higher levels of structured‑literacy implementation paired with more direct classroom coaching produced the largest student gains.
DOE provided a school example: Michael Hollis Innovation Academy in Atlanta Public Schools increased its third‑grade proficiency on the Georgia Milestones by 13 percentage points and raised the share of students reading at grade level by 29 percentage points after the school prioritized structured literacy and collaborative planning under its coach’s guidance. Ebony Fulgham, the school’s coach, credited stronger collaborative planning and a focus on core phonemic awareness skills for the improvement.
DOE also outlined a structured approach for CSI schools: coaches and principals attend regional PLCs, coaches receive weekly and one‑on‑one support with the state coordinator, and schools use a quarter‑by‑quarter short‑term action plan and an observation‑based tool to track whether structured literacy indicators are present in K–3 classrooms. The department said it adjusted coach expectations to maximize direct classroom support, targeting roughly 65% of a coach’s time in classroom‑facing work where possible.
What happens next: DOE asked the legislature to consider mechanisms to sustain and expand school‑based coaches (including potential use of return‑to‑work provisions to hire retired educators and exploring long‑term funding pathways) and will continue using screener and observation data to refine coach priorities.
