Registration for the Kentucky Reading Academies: Cohort 4 of LETRS Professional Learning NOW OPEN
Registration for the fourth Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) cohort of the Kentucky Reading Academies will be open from May 1, 2025, through Aug. 22, 2025.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will continue the exciting partnership that brings the LETRS professional learning to educators across the Commonwealth, called the Kentucky Reading Academies. This course of study was chosen because of its demonstrated success on a national scale in bringing significant increases in literacy achievement.
The Kentucky Reading Academies is a comprehensive no-cost professional learning opportunity open to all K-5 public school educators. More than 6,000 Kentucky educators and administrators have participated or are currently participating in the LETRS professional learning opportunity.
Two different courses are being offered through the Kentucky Reading Academies: LETRS for Educators and LETRS for Administrators. Descriptions of each are following:
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LETRS for Educators Cohort 4: This course is recommended for K-5 teachers, interventionists, reading specialists, instructional coaches and anyone providing reading instruction or intervention supports to early readers.
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LETRS for Administrators Cohort 4: This course is recommended for instructional coaches who have completed LETRS for Educators, district leaders and building administrators.
Interested educators and administrators can register on the Kentucky Reading Academies webpage beginning May 1. Registrants will indicate which course they are enrolling in when completing the registration form.
PLEASE NOTE: Limited licenses are available for Cohort 4. Registration will be first come, first served. Once we reach capacity, registrants will be placed on a waitlist and invited as licenses become available. Registration does not guarantee enrollment into the professional learning.
Also of note: Cohort 3 participants will not need to register for Cohort 4 as they are already enrolled in the professional learning.
Find out more about the Kentucky Reading Academies on the Kentucky Reading Academies webpage.
For questions about the Kentucky Reading Academies, please email KDE Director of Early Literacy Christie Biggerstaff.
Register NOW for Kentucky’s Read to Succeed Summer Conference
 The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) Division of Early Literacy invites you to join the 1,100 others who have registered for the second annual Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference on June 13, 2025, at The Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky and register today.
Keynote speaker and educational consultant to state departments and school districts on explicit instruction and literacy, Dr. Anita Archer has presented in all 50 states, all US territories, and many countries, including Australia and Canada, and has received ten awards honoring her educational contributions. Dr. Archer has served on the faculties of three universities, including the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and San Diego State University. She is nationally known for her professional learning, and she has co-authored numerous curriculum materials and a best-selling textbook addressing reading and writing.
The conference, which will require registration but will be FREE to Kentucky K-12 public educators, will offer focused learning pathways to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. Attendees will learn from KDE Office of Teaching and Learning consultants and partners about:
- Evidence-based instructional shifts for literacy;
- The benefits of structured literacy;
- Why high-quality instructional resources matter; and
- Available resources for implementing the Read to Succeed Act.
Mark your calendar for this June 13 event!
UNCOVERING THE TRUTHS THAT DRIVE THE “KEY ACTIONS”
Common Misconception: Structured literacy refers only to the teaching of phonics.
What comes to mind when you hear the term “structured literacy”? For many, it’s immediately associated with phonics instruction. While phonics is an essential part of the structured literacy approach, it is far from the whole picture. Understanding the full scope of what structured literacy entails is key to ensuring all students receive the comprehensive instruction they need.
The truth is, structured literacy is an approach that emphasizes highly explicit and systematic teaching of all essential components of literacy. These components include foundational skills (e.g., decoding, spelling) and higher-level literacy skills (e.g., reading comprehension, written expression) (Scarborough, 2001). Structured literacy also emphasizes oral language abilities essential to literacy development, including phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness instruction emphasizes sensitivity to speech sounds and the ability to manipulate those sounds. Structured literacy prepares students to decode words explicitly and systematically as well as develop vocabulary and background knowledge (IDA, 2019). This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers (IDA, 2019).
To learn about other common misconceptions that may have led to ineffective literacy practices and how to shift to evidence-based structured literacy practices, see Key Actions for Meeting the Needs of ALL K-3 Readers and Writers.
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