District accepts $210,000 literacy-coach grant; board approves ADE job description for Curry and Frank

The board approved a required job description from the Arizona Department of Education to accept a $210,000 grant that will fund foundational literacy coaches at Curry and Frank elementary schools.

Dr. Hargrave explained the schools were selected as eligible under Arizona Literacy 2030 because they fall within the lowest 10% on selected data points; the awarded $210,000 covers salary and benefits for two full-time literacy coaches (one at each school). She said the coaches will focus on K–3 foundational literacy and will work through coaching teachers (co-planning, co-teaching, observation and modeling) rather than direct long-term student pull-out. "We were awarded the amount of 210,000, which covers the salary and benefits for a foundational literacy coach at Frank and a second at Curry," she said.

Board members asked about measures of success (student reading outcomes, screening data and state test results) and whether successful practices could be scaled districtwide. Staff said the positions are grant-funded and eligibility is reevaluated three years per ADE rules; if the pilot shows promising approaches, the district can replicate training and models elsewhere.