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Elementary staff brief board on LETRS reading training and curriculum alignment
Summary
Presenters told the Treynor Community School District board that LETRS is a research‑based, two‑year professional learning program aligned with district curriculum pilots and intended to improve foundational reading instruction for kindergarten through third grade; several teachers and instructional coaches have completed or are enrolled in the training.
Miss Kaye and Jen Nelson described the district’s implementation of LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), a multi‑unit professional learning program the presenters said is intended to strengthen phonics, phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension in the elementary grades. “The key elements of any reading program are the five pillars of reading,” Miss Kaye said, listing phonics, phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Jen Nelson, who the board identified as an instructional coach, said LETRS is typically delivered as a two‑year, eight‑unit program with a blended schedule of live sessions and independent online work. She told the board that year‑one work is roughly 48 hours and that participating teachers often complete live sessions in the evenings or weekends. “It’s very applicable,” Nelson said, adding that district coaches and several grade‑level teams have completed or are enrolled in the program.
Presenters told the board the training is a professional learning experience, not a stand‑alone curriculum, and that it pairs with pilot reading programs the elementary has been testing. The pilots and LETRS share an instructional philosophy Nelson described as combining decoding with language comprehension to produce reading comprehension. District staff said the state is funding LETRS, and the district has used limited professional development funds to provide modest stipends for teachers who complete training.
Board members asked about scope and grade focus; the presenters reiterated that LETRS concentrates on foundational skills in kindergarten through third grade while later grades emphasize reading‑to‑learn strategies and increased writing instruction. The district said it will continue encouraging teacher participation and monitor application in classrooms as the pilots proceed.
The board did not take an action vote on LETRS at the meeting; presenters were asked to return with ongoing participation data and any cost or scheduling impacts for future meetings.
