A note from Linda: This month's newsletter is a client spotlight. In it, I highlight the amazing work of Lebanon Road Elementary. Therefore, some of the usual headings will be different.

"This was worth the wait.”— Gerald in Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems

Waiting is Not Easy

If there is a theme around state testing results and student achievement outcomes, it could be summed up by Mo Willems’ book, Waiting Is Not Easy. (2014) In the book, Piggie tells Gerald “I have a surprise for you!” And Gerald is ready for the surprise NOW. With impatience, groaning and yelling, Gerald is forced to wait until FINALLY the sun goes down and Piggie points to the beautiful night sky. In awe, Gerald responds with “This was worth the wait” to which Piggie says, “I know.”

We don’t like waiting for results, especially when it comes to student data. And yet, it is the collective work of many teachers over years in education that drives results. Consistent high quality instruction year over year is what helps close gaps in schools, especially for children whose opportunity gap is wide. For children who are a year behind on screening data, they need to make at least 1.5 years growth over two years to “catch up” to their peers. When we rush to see results in one year, we fail to recognize the multi-year effort behind them.

In the 2023-2024 school year Lebanon Road Elementary saw an approximate 30 point jump in 3rd grade state literacy test scores moving from 26.3% (2022-2023 school year) to 56.4% students demonstrating grade level proficiency (GLP). This moved LRE up a school letter grade, off the low-performing list and put their performance above the statewide GLP score (48.6%). Such a large increase feels like a miracle but there is no mystery about what led to such a feat. It took years of innovative strategies, dedicated leadership, and a relentless focus on literacy. Let’s celebrate this success by revealing the multi-year effort behind LRE’s results.

About Lebanon Road Elementary

Lebanon Road Elementary School is a neighborhood school that serves approximately 515 students; 19 languages are spoken, and 55% of students are Hispanic and one-third identify as multilingual learners. As many schools experienced, post-pandemic achievement scores plummeted and Lebanon Road was no exception; Rhiannon Polite was named principal two weeks before the shut down in the Spring of 2020 and knew she had a challenge ahead of her. As she learned more about the teachers in her building in the following school year, she heard a recurring message: teachers didn’t feel confident teaching children how to read. With input from literacy leaders in her building, Polite decided to seek outside support from Linda Rhyne Consulting, LLC for the 2021-2022 school year. At the same time, teachers began LETRS training due to SESSION LAW 2021-8 SENATE BILL 387 requiring the Department of Public Instruction to Provide a training program to educators and administrators working with children in the Pre-K -5th grade to ensure instruction grounded in the Science of Reading and outcomes promoting reading achievement in students. (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, n.d.)

A Double Dose

Polite recognized the need for innovative approaches for both teachers and students. She started with a double dose of professional development for teachers. As teachers were beginning their journey in LETRS Volume 1, she partnered with Linda Rhyne Consulting to provide additional professional development in the Spring of 2022. LETRS provided a foundational and understanding of the Science of Reading. The additional professional development went further, connecting research and practice to the EL Education Skills Block curriculum and the North Carolina Reading Foundational Standards both being used and referenced during classroom instruction. In addition, it addressed the feelings of shame and guilt that educators experience when grappling with this learning and implementing new practices in an effort to increase implementation efforts. Polite enlisted Rhyne’s help with the leadership team as well; they participated in coaching sessions that focused on creating safe spaces in which teachers could be vulnerable during their practice and improve instructional practices, curriculum implementation, and data outcomes.

Polite saw things changing around the building as a result: teachers put up sound walls in their classrooms to reflect the phoneme-grapheme connections they were making with students. Teachers had a more intentional structure for their Skills Block, which is the foundational skills instructional block in the EL Education curriculum. Previously, teachers had been going through the motions during this time, working from a compliance perspective. As a result of this professional development and relevant connections to their classroom instruction, that started to shift from compliance-based instruction to proactively planned instruction because of a deeper teacher understanding for the instructional moves they were being asked to implement.

In the years since this professional development effort, Polite began working with some new folks on her leadership team and her MTSS facilitator Nathalie Thompson to address students’ varying needs during foundational skill instruction. There were too many students that needed additional instruction to provide this support at a Tier 2 level only - they had to completely reconstruct their schedule to provide students a double dose of instruction core instruction. This tiered approach to instruction is called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), a framework that aims to improve student outcomes by aligning resources and initiatives to meet the needs of all students. In this plan, every student received targeted and additional instruction (a double dose of instruction) for two years to help close the gaps that were present on initial assessment data. This approach to instruction required that students were given off-grade level instruction to match their skill gaps, including enrichment opportunities for students who excelled; this focus on providing students with targeted instruction based on their needs was a driving force for growth.

Teachers, leaders and specialists worked together to create a collaborative approach using a staggered schedule to ensure every student received personalized, small-group instruction during “Leopard Lab.” Polite engaged multiple staff members throughout the decision-making process, working with support staff to adjust their schedules and flood the grade levels during this time so that ALL students were working with an adult. This approach provided not only students what they needed to be successful, but barriers to teaching in small groups were removed, allowing teachers to focus on honing their small group instructional approaches. Strategic staffing hires were made to increase the number of Multi-Classroom Leaders - teachers who coach teachers, teach students and have a proven track record of effectiveness - to bring the plan to fruition. In addition, Polite moved the strongest teachers with the students over the years, aligning strong instruction where it was needed most. Teachers also continued their professional development journey with Orton Gillingham training, deepening their knowledge and skills further.

Paired with this strategic scheduling and staffing and targeted instruction, the school leadership team led conversations that shifted the narrative about what students were capable of achieving.

Experiencing Success

And it got results. Teachers started seeing the state screening assessment data show 70% of students on grade level. In one Kindergarten classroom 100% of students were on grade level in foundational skills. This approach lowered behavior issues, increased collaboration and community across the grade level for teachers and students, and increased students’ scores. Lebanon Road also witnessed higher numbers of multilingual learners (MLs) exiting the program as a result of their progress, with exit numbers on par with high school levels and evidence of progress on the state requirements for ML progress. Students reported feeling prepared and confident for the assessment.

Most recently, third grade students demonstrated improved reading scores on the state’s end of grade assessment, improving the previous year’s scores by 30 points. Significantly, this group of third graders had disrupted instruction due to the pandemic, having started Kindergarten in the Fall of 2020. One teacher said, “I finally understand what you did. You kept moving our teachers that knew how to get kids to read to move them higher and now all the kids can read.”

Teachers began having discussions about students as “our kids” and asking “how do we give [student] what she needs with the least amount of disruption to her?” Previously resistant teachers became collaborators. Staff members shared that this was the best year they’d ever had. Teachers felt heard and seen. One teacher even waited to retire as a result of this success. There is an increase in the collective efficacy of teachers at Lebanon Road Elementary as a result of this effort. Teachers feel equipped to respond to students’ needs, both because they have the professional knowledge and resources to do so and they have a leadership team that will remove as many barriers as possible to maximize learning for students. This approach to instruction has become “the way we do things here” which is a testament to the efforts of the educators at LRE.

Worth the Wait When There Is a Plan

Lebanon Road Elementary implemented a multi-year strategic approach to early literacy instruction that required patience and persistence. With Polite’s leadership, investment and involvement of all staff members’ voices, innovation was possible. However, these results took time; Lebanon Road did not immediately see third grade results after the first year of the Leopard Lab. Rather, students were given years of double instructional time to help close the gaps and realize success by third grade. It is with that vision and intentionality that we can change the trajectory of a reading life for our students. Let’s learn the lesson Piggie shared with Gerald: sometimes it’s worth the wait.

Polite invites educators, policymakers, and community members to learn from their journey that ensuring every student, regardless of their starting point, has the tools to succeed requires a collaborative and intentional effort over time.

References

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Early literacy. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/classroom-resources/office-early-learning/early-literacy​
Willems, M. (2014). Waiting is not easy! Hyperion Books for Children.

Leadership Moves:

1. Consider the needs to teachers in addition to student needs
2. Engage the full team that will be working with students to problem solve and innovate together
3. Give the plan time to work.

What does this mean for me?

Leaders are well-positioned to create spaces for collaborative problem solving with teams of teachers. This was a key driver in the innovation to schedules that led to LRE's success. It was essential that the multidisciplinary team was able to discuss how different iterations of schedules would impact their ability to support students. When we create opportunities for teachers to understand how we can come together on behalf of students, students win.

Revolution Resources

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Each month, I'm hosting a workshop for instructional coaches. Each workshop will align with the indicators in the Coaching System Assessment. Watch the recording from March's session and subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any upcoming recordings. ​​ April's workshop, "The Importance of Being Human" will explore how vulnerability is a coaching superpower. Register for April's workshop here

Coaching System Assessment Download the PDF: LRC Coaching System Assessment PDF - Final.pdf​ ​Watch the Deep Dive Series!

Literacy System Assessment​​ Download the PDF: LRC Literacy System Assessment PDF - Final.pdf​ ​Watch the introduction to this tool!

Listen, Linda (a Spotify playlist) I've collected all of my podcast guest appearances in one place. Make sure to follow along for new episodes as they come out! Listen, Linda • Linda Rhyne... Ep. 24: Using the Painted Es... PREVIEW   ​

Where have we been?

New Podcast Recording! I had the pleasure of joining John Mihalyo again on his podcast for Catholic School Leaders. We discussed literacy skills and their impact across disciplines, including Math! ​ Take a listen and be sure to leave John a review! Your download and feedback helps him grow his audience. The podcast is available across platforms. Listen to the episode

Fresh Take 2025 Conference I shared my session The Text Matters at the Fresh Take 2025 Conference. In this session, we explored the differences between constrained and unconstrained skills to determine how they apply to standards-based comprehension instruction. Using The Reading Comprehension Blueprint questions, we engaged in a planning process that centers the text to determine what skills are required to access the text.

I celebrated my friend and colleague becoming Dr. Courtney Tate! Dr. Tate's dissertation about Black Women Instructional CoachesTM or BWICsTM is going to change our understanding of instructional coaching. I cannot wait for the world to learn more about her work!

I flew to Michigan to visit Plymouth-Canton Community Schools to continue our work with instructional coaches who are leading the charge in their comprehension instruction shifts!

I closed out the month attending the 54th Annual NCRA conference to learn from sessions and be a #HypeWoman for colleagues!

Where can we connect? Bold font shows events at which I'm presenting. 7/9 - 7/10 - Get Engaged Coaching Con | Learn more here​ 10/8 - 10/10 The Reading League 9th Annual Conference | Learn more here​ ​ Check out my calendar