Kindergarten students demonstrate 'magic E' in UFly phonics lesson; teachers say 94% at or above grade level

Kindergarten students at Indian Hill Elementary demonstrated a condensed UFly phonics lesson for the Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee, where teachers said the program has helped reading outcomes across the district.

Nancy Snit, a kindergarten teacher who said she has taught in the district for 10 years, introduced the presentation and described UFly (the University of Florida Literacy Institute program) as “science of reading research-backed” and “systematic phonics instruction.” She said the district adopted UFly three years ago and that recent diagnostic data show 94% of students are at or above grade level. “UFly stands for the University of Florida Literacy Institute… we adopted it three years ago… 94% are at or above grade level,” Snit said.

Teacher Maria Marciano led students through an auditory drill—asking students to repeat sounds and identify letters—and guided a "magic E" decoding activity that showed how adding an E changes a short vowel to a long vowel (for example, cap → cape). Teachers explained UFly skills are taught across two days (a day one and day two model), with practiced skills woven into subsequent lessons to reinforce learning.

Presenters thanked parents for attending and noted that while the program has strong classroom structure, district coordination matters: a committee member raised concern that the elementary curriculum coordinator who supported program rollout (named in the meeting) will not be returning next year, and speakers said sustaining program coordination should be a budget priority.

What parents and community members heard

- Teachers emphasized routine and consistent practice in the UFly model and offered a short demonstration of decoding and spelling work. - Presenters said UFly is research-backed and has coincided with improved scores; staff cautioned that district-level coordination and staffing changes could affect program continuity.

Next steps

The committee opened the rest of the agenda (budget items and votes) after the presentation; teachers invited kindergarten families to stay for the budget discussion that followed.