Reading schools to expand literacy push with 38 reading specialists

Reading School District officials are expanding efforts to improve literacy across all grades with the help of reading specialists.

“Every student deserves to become a successful reader, and our reading specialists help make that possible,” JuliAnne Kline, district assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, told the Reading School Board.

Kline outlined the initiative Wednesday at the school board’s committee of the whole meeting.

The district has approved 38 reading specialist positions over the past two years. Nineteen were filled last year, she said, and the remaining 19 are being advertised, with hiring expected to begin next school year.

Kline said the expansion reflects a shift from a previous model, in which each school had just one reading specialist, to a needs-based approach, grounded in enrollment and student performance data.

The district is aiming for one reading specialist per 300 students, she said, along with an additional specialist for every 100 students in kindergarten through second grade who fall below benchmark levels.

She described the role of the reading specialists, who work directly with students and teachers, as instructional and strategic. The specialists, she said, use targeted interventions for struggling readers while helping classroom teachers refine their practices.

Kline described one elementary level specialist’s day as moving continuously between responsibilities, from leading intervention groups to modeling lessons in kindergarten classrooms and coaching teachers.

“As you can see, they’re on the move all day long,” she said. “There’s not much downtime for the reading specialist.”

In middle schools, specialists similarly split time between small-group instruction, classroom support and professional learning collaboration, Kline said. At the high school level, they often teach full-day intervention courses, using programs for students reading several years below grade level.

District leaders emphasized the initiative places particular weight on early literacy, especially phonics instruction in kindergarten through second grade.

Strong phonics instruction is essential for early reading success, Kline noted, and early proficiency is a key predictor of long-term academic outcomes.

Reading specialists support that effort, she said, by delivering targeted interventions, ensuring instruction is explicit, systematic and consistent, and helping teachers use data to adjust their lessons.

Part of the board’s discussion centered on clarifying misconceptions about whether reading specialists work directly with students.

Board members said they had heard concerns that specialists primarily serve as instructional coaches.

“They are definitely working with students,” Kline clarified, noting specialists balance both responsibilities, providing direct instruction to students while also coaching teachers.

District leaders said the remaining hires will be phased in next school year to avoid disrupting current classroom staffing.

Kline said many of the new positions may be filled by existing teachers who hold reading specialist certifications, allowing the district to expand capacity while retaining experienced educators.

The broader goal, officials said, is to build a system where no student falls behind in foundational reading skills and where support is available at every level.