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Fayette County outlines K–3 reading overhaul, adopts Hegarty and UFLI in draft framework
Summary
District leaders told the school board they will standardize early-literacy instruction under a K–3 framework aligned to the Third Grade Success Act, using Hegarty for kindergarten phonemic awareness and UFLI for phonics in grades 1–3, plus dashboards and biweekly progress monitoring.
Presenter laid out a countywide K–3 instructional framework the board reviewed Tuesday, saying the district will prioritize the science of reading and set clear expectations for foundational skills across schools.
"Phonological awareness is how students hear and manipulate sounds," the Presenter said, describing daily kindergarten lessons and short interventions for students who do not master benchmarks. The district reported midyear data showing kindergarten performance improved but that almost half of first graders still have phonological awareness gaps.
The Presenter said the district plans to use Hegarty for kindergarten phonemic‑awareness lessons — "about 10 to 15 minute lessons that all of our kindergarten students will get every single day" — and UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) for phonics instruction in grades 1–3, citing Orton–Gillingham best practices and examples from other counties.
Officials described individualized intervention plans and progress monitoring every two weeks for students who do not meet benchmark cut scores set by state law. "We're going to write individualized intervention plans for every kid that does not benchmark," the Presenter said, and added that principals and specialists will lead implementation at the school level.
School leaders also proposed new dashboards and in‑moment Excel reports so the board can see "how many kindergarten students have mastered phonemic awareness" at checkpoints throughout the year rather than relying only on three benchmark dates. The district set a tier‑1 target of 80% mastery for math foundational skills and said it will use common formative assessments and a CRA (concrete‑representational‑abstract) framework to track progress.
Board members asked about professional development timing. The Presenter confirmed training will begin this summer and that materials and an initial PD session will be completed before the next school year to support implementation on day one.
District staff said the framework is still in draft form and has been developed with principals, specialists, master teachers and parent advisory groups; they plan to return to the board with data and more detailed guidance after initial implementation.
