Spotlight Pennsylvania: One district’s journey to transformational literacy change.
District Snapshot
- Located in Hanover, Penn. (south central Penn.)
- 4,700 students K-12
- 2,000 K–5 students across four elementary schools
- Two elementary schools are 50% free and reduced lunch (Title 1)
- Two elementary schools are 30% free and reduced lunch
South Western School District is located in south central Pennsylvania—in Hanover—about six miles from the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. South Western includes four elementary schools that serve approximately 2,000 students, one middle school, and one high school. Although each elementary school is unique, with its own characteristics, they now all share one important daily practice: foundational phonics instruction in all K-5 classrooms, and an effective and aligned intervention system—all with 95 Percent Group.
Taking the first step is often the most difficult part of making any change. This is no different with an implementation journey. Over the past few years, Rob Freil and Brian Cromer, courageous leaders at South Western, have guided a successful, district-wide, science of reading-based literacy implementation. Here they offer a look at the steps they took to unlock literacy for all their students.
We were very strategic about developing a plan of action with change because we both feel very strongly that change cannot occur immediately. It has to be well thought out, and you have to have the end in mind.
Brian Cromer, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Change is inevitable
Before launching a change in the way South Western School District taught reading, Brian Cromer, now the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and Rob Freil, now Assistant Superintendent, had been working side by side on curriculum development for years. In 2017, when Freil was hired as the Director of Curriculum, he was tasked with overhauling the way they approached all curriculum first, and then identified literacy as a focus.
In early 2020, before the pandemic, after they had established a curriculum system that Cromer was overseeing, Freil and Cromer knew it was time in their curriculum cycle to revisit how reading and writing were taught district-wide. There was an awareness that teachers had, for a while, been seeing a decrease in foundational literacy skills and that they needed to make a change. They also understood that with such a significant and potentially contentious topic, it was crucial to identify who should be involved.
So they created a vision for how the design of literacy curriculum needed to change district-wide. They knew the journey would be long and were determined to make the process meaningful for all involved. By fall of 2023, there was a new phonics curriculum in every elementary classroom, K-5, across all four elementary schools. Here’s how they got there while staying grounded in creating the systems that would uphold their vision.
Access the full story now: What you’ll learn
Are you ready to read about the exact steps one district took to transform their literacy instruction? Download the full story and learn:
- How to craft your approach to ensure the implementation is meaningful and aligned with your district’s educational goals.
- How to create a sense of ownership so changes made are well-received and effective.
- Why having a district-wide cohesive and unified phonics program helps and motivates both students and teachers.
