Kamdyn Johnson, a kindergarten teacher at Clearwater West Elementary, Clearwater USD 264, works with one of her students on a decodable text. (Photo submitted by Kamdyn Johnson)

Literacy is fundamental for nearly everything throughout a child’s educational experience. American Education Week, Nov. 17 – 21, gives us a chance to celebrate literacy as the foundation by which children become successful academically and thrive as adults.  

Over the past handful of years at a small, Kansas elementary school near Wichita, Kamdyn Johnson could see many of the students in her building who, when reading, “struggled with true comprehension” and she knew a change in instructional approach was necessary.  

“They could listen to a story, but they weren’t consistently understanding the meaning or able to share about what they understood,” said Johnson, now in her second year as a teacher at Clearwater West Elementary, Clearwater USD 264. “In kindergarten, specifically, writing was more of a fill-in-the-blank activity rather than an actual measure of what students could actually write on their own.” 

Johnson said she worked at Clearwater West as a building aide supporting classrooms and spent a year as a library aide. Now as a kindergarten teacher, she saw a “huge shift” in her students’ learning when she started applying the structured literacy principles she learned from the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS®) course. 

“My students became more confident readers and writers because they knew what to expect each day and were comfortable with the routines,” Johnson said, adding her students are eager to understand what they need to do to increase their reading proficiency. “It has been amazing to see such young students take ownership of their learning and be so active in wanting to improve their skills.” 

The Kansas State Board of Education has significantly increased its investment in literacy efforts grounded in the science of reading since 2018. Structured literacy is one of the State Board’s Four Fundamentals in the new school improvement model adopted in 2024, which now serves as the foundation for accreditation. The State Board’s commitment also includes approving new licensure requirements for Kansas elementary educators and administrators to ensure high-quality literacy instruction statewide. At the Overbrook Attendance Center (K-3), Santa Fe Trail USD 434, students are making gains in their literacy skills. But the teachers who helped make that happen saw many of the same struggles. 

“In my classroom, I was noticing several literacy gaps that concerned me,” said kindergarten teacher Amber Thompson. She said many of her students struggled with decoding grade-level words and their reading fluency was below expected benchmarks.  

“I also saw students relying heavily on guessing from pictures or context instead of actually reading the words,” said Thompson, now in her fifth year of teaching. “Spelling patterns weren’t sticking, and students had difficulty connecting sounds to letters consistently.” 

Fellow K-3 teachers in Thompson’s building said they were seeing similar reading difficulties in their classrooms, causing their students to have decreased comprehension and less confidence in themselves when reading.  

The USD 434 elementary teachers say taking the LETRS® courses have helped them apply teaching methods that have their students more engaged and reading scores trending up.  

“I have been able to implement more hands-on strategies to encourage their participation,” said 19-year veteran teacher Rebecca Tantaros of her second grade students. “As we have implemented structured literacy in our building, students are now coming with a better foundation of skills and understanding the systematic routines to teach these skills.” 

Avery Chinn, a third grade teacher, said having consistent routines and appropriate intervention groups has led to “great growth” in reading fluency throughout her school since the teachers began implementing their structured literacy curriculum in the classroom.  

“With a building-wide goal posted in our main hall, the kids can visually see the growth during testing when pieces are added for each student that made growth,” Chinn said. “It’s very exciting to see the growth from the students, and they are proud of their improvements as well.”