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District presenters say phonemic-awareness push produced large early-reading gains
Summary
District presenters showed assessment gains tied to phonemic- and phonological-awareness instruction: letter-naming correctness rose from 26% to 71% in one quarter, kindergarten letter-naming averaged 88%, and staff recommended shifting testing time to fluency and targeted phoneme segmentation instruction.
District staff told the Coldwater Community Schools Board of Education that new emphasis on phonemic and phonological awareness has produced substantial early-reading gains across elementary grades. Presenters from Max Larson Elementary — including teachers Kelly Stroud, Hannah Habrill and Jamie Schwartz — showed assessment results and recommended instructional shifts.
Presenters cited specific results: "our letter naming correctness jumped from 26% in the fall to 71% in just one quarter," they said, and reported a kindergarten average of about 88% for letter naming. First-grade students showed near-universal mastery on some letter-sound measures; presenters described a "ceiling effect" in first grade that allows teachers to reallocate instructional time toward fluency and comprehension.
The presenters explained the difference between phonemic awareness (manipulating individual speech sounds by deleting, segmenting and blending) and broader phonological awareness. They emphasized that kindergarten and early-elementary instruction should prioritize phoneme segmentation and blending skills that underpin later decoding. "Phonological awareness could be thought of as a large umbrella," one presenter said, explaining that phonemic tasks sit under that umbrella.
The team highlighted equity results: multilingual learners in several cohorts narrowed gaps, with first-grade multilingual students performing within two percentage points of their general-education peers on letter-sound mastery in the data shown. Presenters recommended four follow-ups for teachers and the district: celebrate and sustain young-five growth, have kindergarten focus on phoneme segmentation (current mastery about 47%), reduce routine letter-identification testing in first grade to free time for fluency work, and continue supports that helped multilingual students close gaps.
The board received copies of the data packet and a short slide show; the presentation closed with staff noting materials and a plan to share more detail with grade-level teams. Director-level staff later reported that HMH literacy materials for elementary grades have arrived and a half-day training is planned this spring to support implementation.
Next steps: the board has the presenters' data packet for review, and curriculum staff will proceed with training and implementation planning for literacy materials.
