8 underperforming elementary schools in Bibb County will receive literacy coaches
The Georgia Department of Education will place full-time literacy coaches in eight elementary schools across Bibb County to increase reading scores.
Teachers and leaders throughout the state will receive “training in structured literacy and the science of reading” as a part of the education department’s broader tiered coaching model, State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a press release.
“We are focused on improving literacy outcomes for every student, in every school across our state,” Woods said. “The coaches announced today will work directly with the schools in greatest need of improvement and ensure they have the resources to deliver high-quality early literacy instruction to every child.”
Across the state, 60 regional coaches will work with Georgia’s lowest-performing primary schools in literacy rates, the department said.
For Bibb County, this includes the following eight schools: Bernd Elementary School; Bruce Elementary School; Hartley Elementary School; Ingram/Pye Elementary School; Rosa Taylor Elementary School; Southfield Elementary School; Union Elementary, and Williams Elementary School.
State Education Department Communications Director Meghan Frick said the department is aiming to have the coaches placed in time for the 2024-25 school year in the fall.
Woods selected literacy coaching expert Dr. J. Nicholas Philmon, who played an integral role in developing structured literacy practices in Marietta, to develop and lead the state’s new literacy coaching model.
Philmon will work with a team of experts to create a detailed coaching plan, direct the hiring process for regional literacy support coaches and provide training to regional coaches and educators throughout the state, the department said.
The state will also adopt literacy coaching standards that were proven successful in Florida.
Philmon could not be reached for further information on how the process of literacy coaching will work.
Bibb County has its own literacy action plan
On the local level, Bibb County School District leaders and teachers are also coming together to address and improve literacy results through the development of a district literacy action plan.
Bibb County’s Director of Elementary Services Olena Stadnik-Floore said the plan will be aimed at key factors critical to the district’s literacy development by identifying measurable goals for professional learning, assessment and instruction.
The plan will also focus on stakeholder engagement and community outreach to boost reading rates. Because literacy entails more than just fundamental reading and writing skills, it is important for the school district to engage with everyone, she said.
“As we’re moving and working through our vision in making sure that we empower our students to learn, lead, innovate and serve, we cannot be by ourselves,” she said.
Despite 2022 Mileonestone statewide test results showing about 36% of third graders reading below grade level, Stadnik-Floore said the students in Bibb County School District are progressively growing and mastering on all levels.
“We are moving in a positive direction. We truly believe that as we are creating, and then start implementing the robust literacy plan, we will only grow at a faster pace,” she said.
Stadnik-Floore said it appears the district’s steps to improve youth literacy align with the Georgia Department of Education’s new literacy standards, which focus on the science of reading and structured literacy coaching.
“It makes us proud to know that we have been offering these opportunities and that we have already been training all of our teachers and academic coaches in the science of reading during the last school year,” she said.