Why Early Literacy Matters
Research is very clear: the skills children build in kindergarten through third grade form the foundation for everything that follows in their academic lives. A student who is not reading proficiently by the end of third grade is significantly more likely to struggle throughout school and less likely to graduate on time. Early intervention — identifying gaps quickly and responding with targeted, effective instruction — makes a measurable difference in long-term outcomes.
This is why our district has prioritized early literacy not as a single program or a one-year initiative, but as a sustained, systemwide commitment supported by training, data, and research backed instructional materials.
UFLI Foundations
OCSD’s early literacy approach centers around UFLI Foundations, an explicit and systematic phonics curriculum developed by the University of Florida Literacy Institute. UFLI is built on the science of reading — it teaches phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding in a carefully sequenced, cumulative way that reflects how the brain learns to read. UFLI gives teachers a structured framework for direct instruction. Every lesson is explicit: teachers model, students practice, and skills build on one another in a deliberate progression.
The curriculum provides detailed lesson plans, decodable texts aligned to what students have already learned, and built-in opportunities for differentiation. Teachers can meet students where they are — providing extra support for students who are behind and extending learning for those who are ready.
MAP Growth Testing
Knowing how to teach reading is only part of the equation. The other part is knowing how each student is performing — and responding quickly when a student needs more support.
We administer MAP® Growth, our benchmark assessment tool from NWEA, three times a year — fall, winter, and spring. The data from these assessments gives teachers a precise picture of each student’s reading skills. Unlike end-of-year state assessments, MAP Growth is designed to be used during the school year, giving teachers time to support students.
MAP Growth measures where students are relative to national norms and tracks their individual growth over time. The results inform our tiered system of support. For most students, the core UFLI instruction delivered in the general education classroom provides everything they need. But for students who are falling behind, we don’t wait. Teachers, instructional coaches, and intervention specialists work together to identify students who need additional support and to put that support in place quickly.
High-Dose Tutoring
For students who need more than what small-group intervention alone can provide, OCSD offers high-dose tutoring with targeted state funding— one of the most evidence-backed strategies in education for accelerating student learning. Research consistently shows that high-dose tutoring, can produce significant gains in reading skills in a relatively short period of time, particularly for students who are furthest from grade-level expectations.
Tutors are trained in the science of reading and in the specific skills they are targeting, and their work is coordinated with classroom teachers and instructional coaches so that every adult supporting a student is working from the same playbook. Progress is monitored regularly to ensure tutoring is moving the needle — and to identify when a student’s needs require a different approach.