The missing link for LETRS

I completed my LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training in 2021-22 and it was transformational for me.

As a Professional Learning Facilitator (PLF) of LETRS over the last 3 years, I can now say that I believe the missing link between LETRS training and the classroom is that teachers need support to implement the understandings acquired in the training.

I had already begun a learning journey in 2015, while still in the classroom as a teacher. The things I learned on that journey had never been a part of my Master of Arts training. I had been sent into a classroom, in a Title One school, underprepared to serve students. I began practicing in my classroom the things that I was learning on my journey.

Without ongoing support and coaching, teachers may struggle to implement so much new knowledge in their classrooms. We cannot mix the knowledge of LETRS with balanced litearcy practices because the two conflict. Teachers don’t make the school/district decisions, but without support to implement practices in buildings, LETRS knowledge alone won’t help classroom practices or struggling students. Building systems and practices HAVE to change for this to work. Is that happening?