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Literacy coach reports gains for Bradford kindergarten under REaD Ohio program
Summary
Kelly Thomas, a REaD Ohio literacy coach, told the Bradford Exempted Village board the kindergarten cohort rose from about 51% on-track in September to 76% by spring on a letter-sounds assessment; she outlined 328 coaching sessions this year, fidelity checks and plans to implement UFly phonics with training Aug. 25.
Kelly Thomas, a REaD Ohio literacy coach, told the Bradford Exempted Village Board on Monday that kindergarten literacy outcomes improved markedly after coaching and classroom supports this year.
Thomas said REaD Ohio—an initiative launched statewide in 2023—places coaches in schools to support teachers in evidence-based reading instruction. "I am Kelly Thomas and I am a REaD Ohio literacy coach," she told the board, describing duties that included analyzing student data, modeling lessons, meeting with teachers and conducting fidelity checks.
The team set a SMART goal that 80% of kindergarteners would demonstrate mastery of letter sounds by scoring 20 or above on the nonsense-word fluency letter-sounds assessment. Thomas reported the kindergarten group moved from roughly 51% on track in September to about 64% midyear and 76% by the end of the year, narrowly missing the 80% goal. She said a teacher maternity leave disrupted continuity late in the year and likely reduced growth in one classroom.
Thomas described 328 coaching sessions across one-on-one, small-group and whole-school formats and said state-required fidelity checks showed 91% adoption of targeted practices by spring observations. "We progress monitored weekly for some and made sure that the kids that were below benchmark were making progress," she said.
She also said the district will adopt the UFly phonics program next year, with teacher training scheduled for Aug. 25 and built-in fidelity monitoring. Thomas said the program includes daily review routines she expects to support retention over the summer and into the next school year.
Board members asked about grade-level focus for next year; Thomas said she will work across grades but must report a single focus grade to the state. She identified possible emphasis on second grade pending next year’s scores.
The presentation was followed by brief board questions and concluded with Thomas thanking the board for the opportunity to work at Bradford.
