In classrooms across the state, children are learning to read from teachers required to use new tools, research and instruction.
Known as the “science of reading,” this approach draws upon decades of research in psychology, neuroscience, and education to better understand how the brain processes written language. And early results show promise.
Reading instruction has evolved and the new term to describe the latest effort primarily refers to cognitive research about what happens in the brains of strong and poor readers, and is frequently shorthand for devoting more classroom time on phonics and learning to sound out words.
This new reading model was among two Michigan laws passed in 2024 requiring schools to screen kindergarten through third-grade students for dyslexia and provide evidence-based reading instruction.
“Transitioning a whole district to the science of reading isn’t like flipping a light switch; it’s much more complex than that,” said Margaret Hendrickson, Farmington schools director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. “It requires real intentionality and, honestly, a lot of sustained support. We have to be realistic: the full impact of this work is going to take time to show up in our data.”
FINDING A BETTER WAY
According to a 2024 report from Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Initiative, elementary teachers around the state were using 444 English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum resources.
The state has now approved 14 literacy curriculum programs. Of those, 11 had previously been vetted and approved for districts to use state grant money to purchase.
According to a December 2025 article in The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering the education system, Stockbridge, a mid-Michigan school district of just over 1,000 students, increased English proficiency scores by 12% on standardized tests after implementing science of reading curriculum last year.
Amy Taylor, a literacy interventionist in the district, explained the concept.
“My kindergarten class at the time, they were learning how to read, but the difference was, they didn’t know why,” Taylor said in the article. “It was all memorization. They did not peel a word apart and talk about the different whys: why the word is ‘pinch.’ So, when we started the new curricula, that was life changing for our learners and for us.… It’s just changed our whole way of looking at a child and how they learn best.”
Amy Maser, a parent with an elementary school student in Avondale, said it is a different type of learning, but nothing that parents should see as off-putting.
“It is more about the phonics of sounding words out and saying them out loud instead of memorization and repetition,” she said. “My son took to it very well and we were given tips on how to expand on assignments at home. It does seem very natural and not overanalytical.”
Dana Mastersen, a parent of a 3rd grader in Ferndale, saw her daughter’s interest improve with the more hands-on, phonics based method.
“It is more involved than just repetition,” she said. “I’m not sure what is involved in it, but it is making a difference within a classroom setting and at home.”
Gutman said districts around the county will need to find their own way in how to keep curriculum in place that is working and implementing the new state-approved curriculum.
“We need to balance how we teach the kids in front of us, how we handle paying teachers for all these extra hours and how we handle implementation in general,” he said. “We’ve got work to do. I think this is a good step as long as there is a good balance with local control. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
The list of endorsed curriculum includes foundational skills programs like 95 Phonics Core Program, IMSE Orton-Gillingham Plus and UFLI Foundations, and comprehensive learning programs Savvas Learning Company LLC’s myView Literacy, Wit and Wisdom and MHM Into Reading and Imagine Learning’s EL Education.
Avondale literacy coach Sarah Stickney said her district is going even further investing in the new curriculum.
“Getting our teachers trained in the “science of reading” goes beyond LETRS training. We have invested in having literacy coaches at each of our elementary buildings,” she said. “Educators are willing and want to learn and apply new practice, the biggest barrier is time. The day to day job is very demanding. Training and then implementing that training takes time that teachers just don’t have built into their contracts.”
Maser said other parents like what they have seen when it comes to the new method.
“Other moms tell me their kids’ teachers have kept them informed and shown them the materials and answered questions and focused on how the kids are learning and not just seeing if it translates into better test scores or grades,” she said.
Photo courtesy ASD
TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE
The focus is on a training course called the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), one of the most popular that claims to adhere to the science of reading.
Michigan has dedicated $44 million in grant funding so far and has dedicated another $50 million over five years, including $10 million for the next fiscal year toward LETRS training.
According to the Michigan Department of Education, 5,843 educators across the state have already completed the training and another 5,558 were enrolled in the course.
The length and depth of LETRS training courses vary and depend upon the grade level of the students.
Training for Early Childhood Educators is designed for preschool teachers. It includes four self-paced, online units (14 hours), related readings (4 hours), and time dedicated to applying learned skills in their classrooms as a “Bridge to Practice” (5 hours).
Training for Kindergarten-5th grade teachers occurs in eight full-day or 16 half-day virtual training sessions over a two-year period. It includes eight self-paced, online units (58 hours), related readings (26 hours), and time dedicated to applying learned skills in their classrooms as a “Bridge to Practice” (25 hours).
Training for administrators occurs in four virtual full day or 8 half day training sessions over two years. It includes self-paced, online units (19 hours), and related readings (16 hours).
The cost for training typically ranges from $500–$1,200 per program. Some reports put the cost around $300 for specific unit sets and full programs can cost up to $4,400. Literacy grant funds from the state usually cover training costs for districts.
“As of fall of this year we have 55 educators including three administrators that have completed or are in the process of completing training. That is about 68% of our K-5 staff,” said Sarah Stickney, Avondale literacy coach and multi-tiered system of supports coordinator. ““It is a significant time commitment.”
So far, she said the training has not cost Avondale any money so far. It used funding from the 35J (literacy) grant to offer teachers stipends for the training hours and the state covers the cost of enrollment and materials.
The Michigan 35j literacy grant provides funding for PreK-5 schools to improve literacy through research-based instruction, professional development such as LETRS, and curriculum.
Berkley has had several Transitional Kindergarten-5th grade teachers and early childhood educators complete LETRS training.
Three out of their four transitional kindergarten teachers and 16 out of 53 K-3 teachers have completed the training while others have enrolled, but not yet completed.
“We used our 35j (literacy) grant funds to cover all costs for LETRS and Aspire training, even offering staff stipends to complete the training with many sessions being held outside of their contract hours,” said Meghan Ashkanani, Berkley assistant superintendent of teaching, learning and technology. “We began this process during the 2024-25 school year, in anticipation that we’d need plenty of time to ensure all staff were trained prior to the full required 2027-28 school year.”
Farmington has gone as far as rewarding teachers for completing the training.
“All of our K-5 teachers have engaged in professional learning focused on explicit, systematic, foundational skills instruction, which is the core of LETRS training. About 10 cohorts of staff members have participated in state-offered LETRS sessions, which they complete outside of the school day,” said Hendrickson. “To support this commitment, the district provides a $750 honorarium to each staff member who completes it. We have successfully moved about 40 staff members through this process.”
Ferndale and West Bloomfield said they have 46% and 70% of their K-5 staff have completed LETRS training.
Oakland Intermediate School District Superintendent Ken Gutman understands how educators are currently dealing with the curriculum, but is looking to start the process sooner.
“If this is so important, we need to require universities to teach it as part of their teacher preparation programs so we are not pulling teachers away from classrooms for additional training,” he said.
Hendrickson also explained the other added cost involved with the training – substitute teachers.
“The 160-hour LETRS commitment requires roughly 26 substitute-release days per teacher,” she said. “To manage this sustainably for a teacher, we would spread each teacher’s training over two years, totaling approximately $817,700 in substitute costs for our remaining 185 staff members (in Farmington).”
“We have roughly about 31 teachers who will still complete LETRS training,” said West Bloomfield schools Elementary Curriculum Consultant Amy Quinn. “The estimated cost for licensing access to the training will be about $20,000, while it will cost the district about $70,000 in extra pay. The district will utilize grant money to help support training costs.”
Photo courtesy ASD
ALREADY YIELDING RESULTS
Statewide, only 39.6% of third graders were proficient or higher in English language arts in the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) tests.
According to MI School Data, in Oakland County only 47.3% of 3rd grade students scored as proficient or advanced on 2024-25 MSTEP testing in English language arts.
Only 11 out of 28 districts scored above 50% as proficient or advanced. Northville was the highest at 70.7% and Madison was the lowest at 11%. Five districts scored at 21% or lower.
Some data is coming to light that the shift to science of reading curriculum is working.
“Our teachers have received training on this approach for the last four years and have fully aligned our curriculum knowledge building and comprehension for two years and our systematic phonics instruction for three years,” said Ferndale Superintendent Hibbler. “Our increase in third grade reading proficiency from 37% in 2018–19 to 48.4% in 2024–25 M-STEP results reflect the collective efforts districtwide.”
Avondale has increased their 3rd grade ELA students scoring as proficient or advanced from 39.1% in 2021-22 to 47.3% last year.
West Bloomfield has increased their students’ scoring as proficient or advanced from 45.7% in 2021-22 to 48.7% last year.
photo courtesy ASD
“Early district data—including walkthroughs, benchmark assessments, and winter NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association)—shows strong growth in foundational skills and reading comprehension,” said Quinn. “We are also seeing higher engagement, deeper learning across subjects, stronger collaboration, data-informed instruction, and improved reading and writing outcomes.”
In Waterford, the district instituted HMH Into Reading curriculum a few years ago and have begun to see results.
“We saw a huge shift in every one of our buildings, every grade level, in growth,” Assistant Superintendent for Pre-K-5 Instruction Darin Holley said in a March Detroit News article. “And so when we shared that data with them, it was pretty hard to say that it wasn’t working.”
But results will not occur immediately.
“We’re asking our teachers to fundamentally shift how they’ve taught for years, and we need to give them the professional grace and the actual hours to grow into that new practice,” said Hendrickson. “It’s the same for our students. They can’t just do this for one or two years. We’re playing the long game here because that’s what our students and teachers deserve.”
“In the end, we need to do something different in many places, but not every place,” said Gutman. “The transition will take time and it is not all about test scores, this is about a fundamental culture change throughout the county.”