Rising Readers: District Celebrates Strong Gains in Literacy Achievement
As the school year comes to a close, Georgetown ISD has more than a few reasons to celebrate. End-of-year data from mCLASS and MAP assessments show marked improvement in reading and literacy performance across grade levels, with districtwide efforts leading to measured success.
The district’s Board of Trustees set a goal to increase the percentage of elementary students reading on grade level from 49% to 58% during the 2024-2025 school year. The district already exceeded that goal, with 64% of elementary students reading on grade level.
These gains reflect more than just test scores—they represent the hard work of teachers, interventionists, instructional coaches, and campus leaders.
“This year, we made an intentional effort to revise the focus of our Literacy Framework to highlight components of literacy — the what, rather than just the how,” Chief Academic Officer Dr. Sonja Howard said. “Teachers at the primary grade levels also implemented solid phonics and phonemic awareness routines, which are critical early skills for reading.”
Dr. Howard added, “It’s one thing to set high expectations—but it’s another to build the systems that help meet them. This year, our team did both.”
After rigorous professional training in January, two elementary schools successfully implemented Literacy First, a Tier 2 reading intervention program, to support the learning of foundational reading in grades K-2. The program emphasizes daily one-on-one sessions with students, guided by trained staff and supported by expert early literacy coaches.
Programs like Literacy First, combined with adjustments to literacy initiatives, provide a strong springboard for continued momentum.
WHAT’S NEXT
Measured progress happens in phases, and while there is pride in students' gains in literacy, there is still more work to be done. District leaders, curriculum coordinators, and teachers continue their work this summer, developing curriculum and aligned instructional practices for the year ahead.
“Our work in Georgetown ISD is to achieve learning, growth, and progress for our students. We believe that every student deserves to achieve a minimum of one year’s growth,” said Howard. “As we continue our instructional priority work, we want to move beyond just growing but also highlighting our focus to help students reach grade-level proficiency and to experience rigor in learning.”
To get there, the district is working to create learning experiences that are engaging and focused on the depth and complexity of the state standards through its professional learning communities.
“Many of those standards are dense and complex,” said Howard. “We have to ensure the learning activities put before our students lead to complex understandings of the work, well beyond the surface of learning.”
Additionally, the district is focused on math performance in the year ahead.
“We must also improve math performance by ensuring that student work is appropriately challenging,” said Superintendent Devin Padavil. “We are proud of the work our teachers are doing in the classroom, and we expect improved student learning every year. We want the data reported by the State to reflect the outstanding quality of teaching and learning we see in classrooms every day.”
With a focus on early literacy, family engagement, and instructional quality, Georgetown ISD is proving what’s possible when everyone works together to support student achievement.
ABOUT LITERACY FIRST
Literacy First is a program of the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. They partner with Title I elementary schools and community organizations to offer a high-impact reading program to emerging readers.
