51萝莉

With a boost from a state initiative, Russellville, Ala., changes mindsets in recommitting to the science of reading

When I stepped into the role of superintendent at Russellville, Ala., City Schools in 2015, I carried with me a deep-rooted understanding of instructional leadership, particularly in literacy. That understanding had been shaped years earlier during my time as an assistant principal in Lawrence County, Ala., where I became immersed in the Alabama Reading Initiative.

The statewide literacy program emphasizes small-group instruction, targeted explicit instruction, scaffolding, differentiation and ongoing data-driven decision making. That foundation became useful when I joined Russellville, which long was viewed as a high-performing district in many respects. Yet beneath that success lay a rapidly changing reality.

Over the past two decades, the district experienced a major demographic shift. By 2015, nearly 30 percent of the student population were English language learners, almost entirely from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. Teachers were doing their best, relying on strategies that had served them well in the past, but those tools weren鈥檛 producing the same results with the new students.

State assessment scores were declining, teachers鈥� frustrations were rising and parent and community concerns were growing. Continuing with business as usual was not an option. Teachers were seeking improvement and support, but no one really wanted to change.

Shifting Mindsets

The first step was to acknowledge the data. Teachers were hungry for support but uncertain what they needed. Honestly, so was I, at least at first. What I did know was we had to stop blaming our changing demographics and start building the capacity to meet new needs.

We developed a strategic plan that became a living document to guide our work. A working committee composed of a board member, principals, teachers, students and community members looked to the plan to inform our decisions, but not without conflict.

Some leaders and many teachers found it hard to discuss the current reality without using our demographics as an excuse. They felt criticized. Not surprisingly, when I announced that 鈥渘o excuses鈥� was our framework for moving forward, resistance was significant. The leadership team of principals and district leaders regrouped and, at least as a leadership team, we agreed that a no-excuses mindset was essential.

We had a problem. Hundreds of students were matriculating through the system without acquiring basic literacy. Teachers were overwhelmed by the needs and numbers of English learners and students with disabilities because on-grade-level learners were a minority.

To support this cultural shift, we introduced districtwide cultural awareness training. We hired a bilingual education consultant, Tery Medina, who came to the U.S. as a Cuban refugee. She spoke to our teachers during professional development days and each ensuing year as new teachers came on board. Teachers began exploring the lived experiences of their students, learning about the challenges immigrant families faced and rethinking how classroom behaviors were interpreted.

This process helped develop empathy and opened the door to meaningful change. On occasion, we placed teachers on buses and drove through neighborhoods where many of our English-learning students lived to see the poverty and living conditions.

However, mindset alone wasn鈥檛 enough. Teachers needed tools, training and systems aligned to the realities they were facing each day in their classrooms. Many of our most dedicated educators had never been trained in how to teach reading to students who were simultaneously learning English.

If there鈥檚 one lesson for other superintendents: Celebrate small victories. They build momentum, renew energy and restore hope.

Reinvigorating Instruction

We turned back to what had worked in the past. Although statewide support for the Alabama Reading Initiative had dwindled for a time, it was gaining renewed traction in the state. I reached out to former colleagues and ARI leaders, and together we built a strategic professional development plan that focused on early literacy. We knew if we could build a strong foundation in the early grades, the burden on teachers in upper grades would be significantly reduced.

We brought in reading coaches, provided intensive professional development and reintroduced practices such as progress monitoring and weekly data meetings. This meant coaches and principals were supporting teachers in classrooms and all were participating in weekly data meetings. I asked principals at all levels to prioritize at least one hour per day in classrooms. Elementary principals did much more than that.

I asked reading coaches to create data rooms so teachers could visually see the progress or lack of movement each week. Progress monitoring became our guide to weekly lesson planning and differentiated instruction.

Teachers learned to group students more effectively, target instruction to specific needs and build routines around differentiated reading strategies. Importantly, we gave teachers permission and time to collaborate deeply. Administrators were with them, asking tough questions about what was working and what wasn鈥檛. This wasn鈥檛 just another training 鈥� it was a systemic reinvestment in the craft of teaching.

The early wins mattered. As we re-taught and started implementing the science of reading (though it wasn鈥檛 a national movement yet), teachers saw growth, felt more effective and regained their sense of purpose.

We celebrated those wins publicly and frequently. When statewide test data were released, we would examine the results for growth and even compare our achievement to districts with similar challenges and those with fewer challenges. When we saw our scores rising for the first time, we celebrated. The district鈥檚 professional development calendar included days when students didn鈥檛 come to school, which teachers valued most in the toolbox we offered. These days allowed teachers free time to collaborate, participate in school or districtwide celebrations or even complete some professional development via Zoom or work in their classrooms.

We also realized if we didn鈥檛 tell our story, no one else would, so we rebranded ourselves and created social media platforms at all levels (classroom, school and district). When we achieved something significant, we posted it on multiple social media platforms.

Language Acquisition

While making strides in foundational literacy, we realized English learners required additional, intentional support. We studied the annual assessment used by the state to evaluate English proficiency and helped teachers analyze the test format and standards. Some even took sample sections of the test themselves.

For many English learners, the biggest barrier wasn鈥檛 reading ability 鈥� it was language production. Many could comprehend far more than they could express.

One major breakthrough was realizing many English learners weren鈥檛 speaking in class. Without speaking and writing, students couldn鈥檛 develop fluency or confidence.

So we embedded strategies such as sentence stems, academic language routines and structured opportunities for verbal interaction. We encouraged teachers to expect and plan for language production, not just comprehension. That year, Russellville Elementary School nearly doubled the state goal for progress toward language proficiency, with 88 percent of our English learners hitting their language acquisition growth targets.

State Initiatives

The state rolled out science of reading training through the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS program, which aligned with much of what the Alabama Reading Initiative had taught for years.

LETRS is a rigorous, evidence-based training that provides a deep understanding of how students learn to read. For our educators, it was transformative. What began as a mandate became a movement.

Though the state asked us to begin training our K-3 classroom teachers a little at a time, we trained almost every K-5 teacher 鈥� even pre-K and resource teachers 鈥� in LETRS as quickly as we could, most of them in the first two years after implementation of the act, leading the state in participation. The training was deep, intensive and spread across the year.

We incentivized teachers to go through this rigorous and intensive training by crediting them with flextime during the district鈥檚 scheduled professional development days, and the state offered a $1,000 stipend upon completion.

An Innovative Partnership

Although our investment in professional development was intense, teachers still needed classroom support. We more than quadrupled our professional development budget during this span of time. In 2021, I was approached by Reach University about giving bilingual aides a chance to earn bachelor鈥檚 degrees through an approved apprenticeship degree program.

Reach University鈥檚 classes were scheduled in the evening to accommodate working adults, and students earned credits for their job. The program鈥檚 purpose was to address teacher shortages and build a teacher workforce that is representative of the community. Its accredited bachelor鈥檚 degree includes teaching apprenticeships at a minimal cost, making it affordable for many of our ESL aides.

However, we didn鈥檛 have bilingual teacher assistants, only translators at each school and a bilingual Spanish teacher at our high school. I envisioned the support those aides could provide for our teachers, but financially the district had not made that a priority. This had been a consistent request from teachers.

Thanks to ESSER funding, we placed bilingual aides 鈥� many of them former students 鈥� in every kindergarten and 1st-grade classroom during literacy blocks through a partnership with Reach University. We hired others at upper elementary and middle school levels who also enrolled in the program with Reach. These aides were game changers. They brought cultural understanding, supported small-group instruction, and in some cases, went on to become certified teachers. The program met an immediate need and helped us grow our own future educators.

In 2022, Russellville Elementary was named an ARI Spotlight School. In 2023, 89 percent of our elementary students were reading on grade level. Proficiency rates in English language arts jumped significantly, with both the elementary (3rd-5th) and primary (K-2nd) receiving statewide recognition for their progress. Between 2014 and 2022, districtwide reading proficiency climbed from 33 percent to above 42 percent.

Beyond the data, there was a shift in culture. Teachers felt more empowered, students more confident and families more connected. We had built a system, not a patchwork, capable of serving all students, including those learning English.

A Continuing Journey

Today, in my work as a consultant, I help other districts navigate similar challenges. Across Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, I coach superintendents and leadership teams on how to build inclusive literacy systems that work. I recently heard from a district where I have been working that they have substantially improved their language acquisition scores and will earn the full amount of their language acquisition points on the state鈥檚 A-F report card.

At the heart of the work are five critical dimensions of an effective English learner program: positive school climate, high-quality instructional practices, active family and community engagement, responsive leadership and social-emotional support.

I share the strategies that worked for our district: understanding the language acquisition assessment and getting students to talk, pairing students for peer support, incorporating visual aids and graphic organizers, and leveraging students鈥� home language, when appropriate. I encourage leaders to think about bilingual staffing not as a bonus, but as a necessity.

English learners don鈥檛 need shortcuts 鈥� they need smart systems and strong instruction. They aren鈥檛 a challenge to be solved. They are an opportunity to be embraced. Our teachers became some of the best teachers in the country through this opportunity. The lesson from my former district is that leaders must set the tone, prioritize resources and ensure sustained support. Literacy gains don鈥檛 come from mandates alone. They come from a bold vision, relentless focus and shared commitment.

Perhaps most importantly, success comes from believing in every student鈥檚 capacity to learn, read and thrive. When you build a school system around the growth of your most vulnerable learners, you improve outcomes for every student. 

Heath Grimes, former superintendent in two Alabama districts, is director of partnerships with Reach University. The author acknowledges the use of artificial intelligence in preparing this article.