Greg Mikulich is superintendent of Knox Community School Corp. in Knox, Ind. Jim Condon is principal of Knox Community Middle School in Knox, Ind.
Literacy is not just another academic benchmark; it’s the anchor for all learning. The truth is simple and sobering: Students who struggle to read will struggle in all subjects — English language arts, science, social studies and even math. Yet across the U.S., a literacy crisis is unfolding.
According to the Nation’s Report Card results, the 2024 results revealed that both 4th and 8th graders’ average reading score in 2024 fell two points compared to the 2022 assessment, and a total of five points compared to pre-pandemic scores in 2019, a decline that has serious implications for long-term student success.
Two years ago, a significant portion of our middle school students were reading well below grade level. Today, the number of 6th and 7th-graders reading on or above grade level has nearly doubled, and our 8th-grade scores are rising as well.
Here's how we did it — and why it matters for every school in the country.
Renewed district-wide focus on literacy
Schools everywhere are under serious pressure to cover an overwhelming volume of curriculum — but we had to face a hard truth: If students can't read at grade level or above, they won't be able to truly learn, think critically, or apply knowledge creatively.
Reading isn’t just another skill; It’s the foundation for all learning. No amount of content coverage can substitute for literacy, and that realization forced us to rethink our priorities. While we can’t change state standards or what students are expected to master, we can control how we use time. Time is the one variable schools can manage, and we chose to dedicate more of it to literacy.
That meant protecting time during the school day for explicit reading instruction, even when it required difficult trade-offs. We carved out space in the schedule to meet students where they were rather than where the curriculum assumed they would be.
It also meant empowering teachers with training, tools and strategies to address reading gaps in every classroom, not just during ELA. The impact has been transformative — not only in test scores, but in how students see themselves as learners.
Prioritizing literacy isn’t optional, it’s the only path to equity, engagement and academic success across every subject.
Focused, faithful implementation
Improving literacy isn't about quick fixes or chasing the latest educational trend — it’s about committing to a long-term, evidence-based approach and staying the course. Too often, when schools confront the need for change, there’s a rush to get from point A to point Z, skipping the critical steps in between. But real, lasting progress in student literacy requires time, consistency and a willingness to trust the process.
Our school adopted a district-wide literacy philosophy grounded not in ideology but in proven research-based practices. That meant every teacher, across grade levels and content areas, used the same core strategy to support reading development.
The approach included clear, structured supports to help students decode words more easily, including the use of diacritics (visual symbols) added directly to text to disambiguate pronunciation and clarify irregular spelling patterns. These embedded glyphs acted as guides, helping students navigate complex orthography with ease.
Over time, students began reading with greater fluency, accuracy and confidence. We understood that slow and steady wins the race — cutting corners or modifying the method for convenience would only undercut the results.
It took discipline and dedication to stay focused, but the payoff has been worth it. By aligning our efforts across the board and giving the program time to take root, we’ve seen real gains in reading skills, student engagement and classroom participation. Literacy success isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. And the key is committing to every step along the way.
Leadership is essential for sustainable change
Any time you invoke change in a school, there’s going to be anxiety about what’s coming, how it will work and whether it will succeed. That’s why trust is essential. In education, decisions are often rooted in relationships, and relationships are built on trust.
When we set out to transform literacy instruction, we started by building a leadership team we knew could lead with credibility and care. That team was composed of a few of our 6th through 8th grade English teachers — educators who were already deeply invested in student reading and respected by their peers — and this grassroots team became the foundation for change. Shortly after, our 5th grade teachers underwent rigorous training to join the effort.
We didn’t try to push the initiative top-down: We got the right people onboard early and gave them the tools and space to succeed. As they began implementing new strategies and seeing results, others naturally followed. Trust was the engine that moved the work forward.
By empowering our teachers instead of mandating change, we created a culture of buy-in and momentum. The result was not just a shift in practice, but a shift in belief about what’s possible when educators lead the way.
The results of our literacy work speak for themselves — not just in test scores, but in the transformed attitudes of our students. The percentage of students passing the Indiana state assessment for English language arts this past spring improved by nearly 10% compared to the same group a year earlier.
Even more encouraging: The number of 6th- and 7th-grade students reading at or above grade level has nearly doubled, and 8th-grade performance continues to show steady gains.
But more powerful than the data are the day-to-day changes we see in our classrooms. As students learned how to break down complex words and tackle more rigorous texts, their confidence grew. Reading no longer felt like a barrier — it became a door they could walk through. One success led to another, and soon students who once hesitated to read were embracing it with curiosity and pride.
That academic momentum carried into their behavior, their engagement, and the overall culture of our school. When kids can read, everything else begins to fall into place. They want to learn, they want to achieve, and they begin to see themselves as capable.
Literacy isn’t just about decoding words. It’s about unlocking potential. Our experience shows that with the right strategies, consistency and a belief in every student’s ability to grow, schools can make reading a strength for all learners—and change lives in the process.
