{"id":8963,"date":"2026-03-20T07:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/in-rural-missouri-classrooms-a-new-approach-to-reading-is-taking-hold\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T07:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:00:54","slug":"in-rural-missouri-classrooms-a-new-approach-to-reading-is-taking-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/in-rural-missouri-classrooms-a-new-approach-to-reading-is-taking-hold\/","title":{"rendered":"In rural Missouri classrooms, a new approach to reading is taking hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\n

Ashley Wood, a second-year kindergarten teacher in Newburg, speaking to her students (photo submitted). <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In early 2026, a small group of first-grade students at Lucy Wortham James Elementary School in St. James, Missouri, sat together sounding out words.<\/p>\n

Kim Williams, the school\u2019s principal, watched as they worked through the lesson. One young boy caught her attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis student had struggled significantly the year before and often avoided reading tasks,\u201d she said. \u201cThis time, I watched him carefully tap out each phoneme, blend the sounds and read a multi-syllable word independently.\u201d<\/p>\n

What stood out wasn\u2019t just that he read the word correctly \u2013 it was how he approached it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t guess. He didn\u2019t look to the teacher for the answer. He applied a strategy he had been explicitly taught,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

She has observed several meaningful changes in students over the past year.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kim Williams<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cStudents are approaching unfamiliar words with greater confidence,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead of guessing, they are using strategies and applying phonics patterns they\u2019ve been explicitly taught. You can hear the difference \u2013 they are sounding out words more accurately and blending more smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The breakthrough she observed is part of a broader effort across rural central Missouri. Through the Rural Schools Early Literacy Collaborative, literacy coaches from the national nonprofit TNTP work directly with teachers in Phelps County schools, helping them implement structured reading instruction grounded in the science of reading.<\/p>\n

Coordinated locally through the Phelps County Community Foundation, coaches visit classrooms regularly throughout the school year. They observe instruction, model lessons and provide feedback, strengthening foundational reading instruction for kindergarten and early elementary students.<\/p>\n

The effort is taking place at a time when reading proficiency remains a challenge across Missouri and the nation. According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation\u2019s Report Card, only 27 percent of Missouri fourth-grade students scored at or above the proficient reading level, while 42 percent scored below the basic level.<\/p>\n

Education leaders say improving early literacy is critical because reading proficiency by the end of third grade is closely linked to long-term academic success.<\/p>\n

Before the collaborative began, the biggest challenges for K\u20131 teachers in St. James R-I centered on consistency, skill gaps and limited structured support.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers were using a variety of reading strategies, programs and materials,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWhile many approaches had strengths, there was not a cohesive, research-aligned framework guiding K\u20131 reading instruction across classrooms. This sometimes led to uneven student outcomes and confusion when students moved between grades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students entered kindergarten with limited literacy exposure, and teachers needed clearer tools to systematically build phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding skills. Identifying and addressing skill gaps early was challenging without a unified approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my perspective as principal, the most significant change since TNTP coaches began working with our teachers has been the shift to consistently structured, research-based literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Instead of learning strategies in isolation, teachers now receive feedback tied directly to classroom instruction. Coaching conversations are specific, practical and immediately applicable, accelerating growth in instructional practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen a significant shift in teacher confidence, collaboration and mindset around early literacy instruction,\u201d Williams said. \u201cTeachers understand how students learn to read, have a stronger grasp of foundational skills \u2014 especially phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding \u2013 and can clearly articulate the \u2018why\u2019 behind their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

That clarity has reduced uncertainty and increased instructional precision.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly literacy is no longer just an initiative,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a unified commitment supported by knowledge, collaboration and confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

A first-year teacher finds support<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

For Ashley Wood, a second-year kindergarten teacher in Newburg, the coaching model provided unexpected support.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see so many posts online telling new teachers to run from the profession,\u201d she said. \u201cBut when you have a support system \u2013 coaching, small groups, someone to talk through what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not \u2013 it makes you want to stay. It takes away that feeling that if a student struggles, it\u2019s all your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood said the approach reduces \u201cteacher guilt\u201d \u2013 the feeling that struggling students are solely the teacher\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n

Her literacy coach, Kelly, follows a predictable rhythm each month: a Zoom planning meeting before a visit, in-person classroom observation, immediate feedback afterward and ongoing email check-ins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely makes you feel like you are not alone,\u201d Wood said. \u201cAs a new teacher, there are so many moments where you wonder if you\u2019re doing it right. Having someone come in, observe and then talk it through with you \u2013 it changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the year, some students did not yet recognize their starter letters \u2013 A, M, S and T \u2013 or the sounds they make.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow almost every single one of them knows capital, lowercase and sound,\u201d she said. \u201cThat growth has been huge. Kindergarten is such a growth year. They come in barely recognizing letters, and by the end they\u2019re reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood admitted feeling nervous before Christmas break, wondering whether students would retain their skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent home decodable passages because I thought, \u2018They\u2019re going to forget everything.\u2019 But they came back after break and every single one of them just took off. It was like something clicked,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The improvements teachers are seeing in classrooms are reflected in early assessment data from participating districts.<\/p>\n

In Rolla Public Schools, more than 94 percent of first-grade students demonstrated year-long growth in reading after coaching support began. In Dent-Phelps R-III School District, the share of first graders reading at grade level increased from 25.5 percent in the fall to 89.4 percent by the spring.<\/p>\n

At Newburg Elementary School, 100 percent of kindergarten and first-grade students demonstrated growth in reading assessments, with gains that more than doubled typical annual progress.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

From classroom change to district strategy<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

For April Williams, assistant superintendent in the St. James R-I School District, the impact is most visible during classroom visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an administrative team, we met every Wednesday morning and did literacy walks,\u201d she said. \u201cWe wanted to be grounded in the work, too \u2013 not just supporting teachers but really understanding what effective literacy instruction should look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those visits give district leaders a firsthand view of how instruction \u2013 and students \u2013 are changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust last week I was in a kindergarten classroom, and the words students were decoding and understanding \u2013 for February \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeing that difference in students\u2019 abilities has been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as a local effort in rural Phelps County is now expanding across Missouri.<\/p>\n

Through the state\u2019s Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant, the coaching model is being implemented in 60 schools statewide, including 40 K\u20135 schools and 20 middle and high schools. Literacy coaches trained in the same model used in Phelps County now support teachers across multiple regions of the state.<\/p>\n

Education leaders say the expansion reflects growing recognition that improving reading outcomes requires not only strong curriculum but also sustained coaching and support for teachers.<\/p>\n

For Williams, the goal is simple: ensure the work continues long after the original grant funding ends.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably what changed the most is we renewed our commitment to literacy district-wide,\u201d she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just something happening in elementary anymore \u2013 we started asking how the entire district supports literacy and keeps it at the forefront of everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe goal is for this model to live beyond the grant \u2014 and beyond all of us. So that it simply becomes what we do.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ashley Wood, a second-year kindergarten teacher in Newburg, speaking to her students (photo submitted). In early 2026, a small group of first-grade students at Lucy Wortham James Elementary School in St. James, Missouri, sat together sounding out words. Kim Williams, the school\u2019s principal, watched as they worked through the lesson. One young boy caught her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIn rural Missouri classrooms, a new approach to reading is taking hold - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/in-rural-missouri-classrooms-a-new-approach-to-reading-is-taking-hold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In rural Missouri classrooms, a new approach to reading is taking hold - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ashley Wood, a second-year kindergarten teacher in Newburg, speaking to her students (photo submitted). 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