The Colonial School Board on Oct. 14 recognized 32 district teachers who completed LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training and heard a demonstration showing how handwriting automaticity affects students' ability to compose and learn to read.

"Tonight, we wish to recognize 32 outstanding educators who spent time this summer receiving LETRS training," Colonial public information officer Lauren Wilson said as the board invited teachers forward for certificates and a photo. "These teachers gained essential knowledge and skills to master the fundamentals of reading and teaching reading to our young scholars."

Katie Bukowski, Colonial’s supervisor of English language arts, presented the district’s literacy vision — that all students be reading on grade level by third grade — and described the district’s multi-year implementation of Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA). Bukowski said CKLA is in year four of implementation and that the district is monitoring benchmarks across K–3, noting gains on district screeners. "Students at the end of year in 2022 were at 31 percent; now we're at 47 percent," she said when describing STAR screener changes for cohorts exposed to CKLA.

Bukowski emphasized that curriculum adoption is paired with professional learning and coaching. She told the board that educators who completed LETRS spent "over 40 to 50 hours engaging that work this summer," including full-day professional development and online coursework, and she praised district and state training partnerships.

To illustrate classroom challenges, Bukowski led an interactive handwriting activity with board members. Participants printed the alphabet with their dominant and non-dominant hands and then added a rhythmic tapping task to demonstrate increased "cognitive load." Bukowski said the exercise shows how handwriting that is not automatic consumes mental resources that would otherwise support composition and comprehension: "When handwriting becomes automatic, the mind is free to think."

Board members asked for additional disaggregated data on students who had continuous exposure to CKLA since kindergarten; Bukowski said staff are tracking cohort reports and she would share findings when available, noting she was working with data specialist Justin Bittner to produce those reports.

The district also highlighted partnerships for leadership development and writing instruction, including prior professional development with consultant Joan Sedita and leader development with Carrie Campbell from Castle Hills, which Bukowski said supports coaching and school-based instructional leadership.

The board recognized the LETRS-trained teachers and presented certificates; Bukowski and staff said the training and curriculum-aligned coaching are part of an ongoing effort to build foundational literacy skills in early grades.