Georgia superintendent of schools announces 60 literacy coaches coming to state elementaries

ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Education is placing 60 literacy coaches in elementary schools full-time to address the reading and learning needs of students in Georgia’s lowest-performing 5% of schools.

According to officials, the coaches “will ensure an intensive focus on literacy in schools” that have been identified as in need of extra support.

Additionally, the coaches will be placed regionally throughout Georgia to help with a broader coaching model.

The state said this “tiered and tailored model” will let Georgia teachers and leaders get proven, nationally recognized training in structured literacy and the science of reading.

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To facilitate these changes, Georgia education officials said they’d be following the example of the Florida Department of Education’s literacy coaching standards.

“We are focused on improving literacy outcomes for every student, in every school across our state,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a statement. “Our goal is to create a truly statewide literacy coaching model – leveraging the talented teachers and leaders already in place in districts and schools, and targeting intensive supports where they’re most needed. 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.”

FLDOE defines a literacy coach as “an instructional leader with specialized knowledge in the science of reading, evidence-based practices, English Language Arts state standards, as well as the knowledge of how to work with educators as adult learners.”

According to the education department, students are tested three times during the year, in the first month of school, the midyear and the last 30 days of school.

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The most recent data available with reading scores for Florida students showed by the end of the 2022-2023 school year, only 50% of students statewide were at or above their required reading level in the third grade. For fourth and fifth graders, the numbers were 58% and 54%, respectively. Scores fell to between 47% and 50% through grades six and 10, the data from FLDOE shows.

In Georgia, state reading score data shows 38% of third graders read at a proficient learning level or higher. For fourth graders, the percentage falls slightly to 36%. However, for Georgia fifth graders, scores rose to 41% of readers at a proficient or better reading score for the end of the spring 2023 term.

For sixth, seventh and eighth grade, scores were 40%, 39% and 42%, respectively, for students who could read at a proficient or higher level for their grade, by spring 2023, the Georgia Milestones Assessment scores show.

Nationally, the long-term trend assessment for reading from the National Center for Education Statistics were in decline for 13-year-old students in 2023. While not the exact same age group, it was the most recent group available. For younger students, the last data set available was from 2022, measuring the reading proficiency of 9-year-olds.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, referred to more generally as the “Nation’s Report Card,” showed reading scores had fallen again in 2022, continuing a recorded drop from 2020. The NCES said it was the largest score drop since 1990 for reading levels in the U.S.

According to the Georgia Department of Education, the new literacy coach program is designed to make the efforts of locally hired literacy coaches able to provide support in the areas most in need across the state.

“Georgia’s school improvement model is focused on providing foundational resources, professional learning, and targeted technical assistance for every school, while working directly with underperforming schools to offer more direct and intensive supports,” Dr. Stephanie Johnson, GaDOE Deputy Superintendent for School and District Improvement said. “That same model – which has demonstrated and documented success – will be the underpinning of Georgia’s literacy coaching initiative, ensuring that every school is prepared to offer high-quality literacy instruction.”

The full list of schools receiving literacy coaches can be found online. 29 of the 60 schools are in the Atlanta metro area. Below is the full set of metro Atlanta area schools getting full-time literacy coaches:

• Continental Colony Elementary School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Harper-Archer Elementary School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Kindezi Old 4th Ward (Atlanta Public Schools)
• KIPP Soul Academy (Atlanta Public Schools)
• KIPP Soul Primary (Atlanta Public Schools)
• KIPP VISION Charter School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• KIPP Vision Primary Charter School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Kipp WAYS Primary Charter School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Michael R. Hollis Innovation Academy (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Paul L. Dunbar Elementary School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• The Kindezi School (Atlanta Public Schools)
• Alps Road Elementary School (Clarke County Schools)
• Whit Davis Road Elementary School (Clarke County Schools)
• City View Elementary School (Cobb County School District)
• Flat Shoals Elementary School (DeKalb County Schools)
• Stone Mountain Elementary School (DeKalb County Schools)
• College Park Elementary School (Fulton County Schools)
• Conley Hills Elementary School (Fulton County Schools)
• Anne Street Elementary School (Griffin-Spalding County)
• Atkinson Elementary School (Griffin-Spalding County)
• Moore Elementary School (Griffin-Spalding County)
• Chicopee Elementary School (Hall County Schools)
• Tussahaw Elementary School (Henry County Schools)
• Walnut Creek Elementary School (Henry County Schools)
• Livingston Elementary School (Newton County)
• Anna K. Davie Elementary School (Rome City Schools)
• Main Elementary School (Rome City Schools)
• SLAM Academy of Atlanta
• Atlanta Area School for the Deaf

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