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Mesquite ISD expands family engagement and early‑literacy efforts; district reports gains on foundational reading measures
Summary
Read Play Talk expansion (LENA Start, Little Readers, baby book bag partnership with Dallas Regional Medical Center) and early literacy initiatives were presented; district reported year‑over‑year gains in kindergarten—2nd grade decoding/benchmark metrics while identifying specific areas (phonological awareness, spelling) for further focus.
Mesquite ISD staff outlined a broad family engagement strategy through Read Play Talk, Camp Excel, LENA Start and a new baby book bag partnership with Dallas Regional Medical Center to put books and milestone charts into new parents’ hands. Lindsay Paris told the board the district piloted Camp Excel this summer with nearly 400 student attendees and 51 class offerings, and that early childhood family programs like LENA Start have enrolled hundreds of families since 2021.
Instructional leaders then described the district’s literacy shift toward the science of teaching reading, noting system changes including teacher training through the Texas Reading Academies, adoption of skill‑based small group instruction, regular progress monitoring, and increased use of decodable texts. Presenters reported kindergarten decoding on grade level at roughly 70% and first grade at about 79% in end‑of‑year measures, while flagging gaps in phonological awareness and a spelling gap (about 20 percentage points) between reading and spelling proficiency to be addressed going forward. "Reading opens doors to all other learning and success in life," the team said as they outlined next steps to scale interventions and professional development.
