As summer break winds down, a select group of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) teachers are gearing up to improve reading proficiency in their schools.
APS is the only school district in Georgia to launch the Accelerated Literacy Model (ALM) to fast-track foundational reading skills in pre-K through third grade. Grounded in the Science of Reading, ALM offers extended, uninterrupted literacy blocks providing high-quality instruction grounded in structured phonics and reading, targeted early interventions, and specialized staff in every classroom, ensuring every Pre-K through third grade classroom has a paraprofessional alongside a dedicated grade-level interventionist and additional support specialists.
“This instructional model is like a signature program for literacy,” APS Assistant Superintendent of Early Curriculum Instruction and Senior Literacy Officer Dr. Shavaun Mincey said. “Over the past four years, we have seen incremental gains in our students reading on grade level as measured by a state assessment. But the incremental gains aren’t enough. What we’re trying to do is accelerate the literacy gains that we’re seeing for our students who are our most vulnerable populations in Atlanta.”
This initiative, which was co-designed by the district leaders and community partners that make up the APS Literacy Council, will be implemented this fall at Heritage Academy, Emma Hutchinson Elementary School, Fred A. Toomer Elementary School, and Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy.
“We chose four principals that had a track record for incremental growth and who also were good with leading their school with culture and climate,” Dr. Mincey said. “The staff who teach in these classrooms had to have a track record for moving literacy results and show a very high percentage in growth gains on standardized assessments. They also commit to 200 additional hours over their regular school contract for literacy training.”
Teachers and staff began reporting back two weeks before the first day of school to go through the Orton-Gillingham training course. Orton-Gillingham is a highly structured approach that breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills involving letters and sounds and then builds on these skills over time.
In the ALM, literacy instruction is integrated into every subject matter. This model focuses more on phonics instruction and the Science of Reading, and is supplemented with reading and vocabulary resources.
“I’m excited about the work that we’re going to be doing in the Accelerated Literacy Model, and I love that this was birthed out of the APS Literacy Council,” Dr. Mincey said. “We think it’s going to be special. Almost like a private school experience within a public school setting.”
Melissa St. Joy, principal at Hutchinson Elementary School, applied to bring the Accelerated Literacy Model to her school because she noticed that despite seeing growth in students reading at or above grade level, it wasn’t translating to improved reading proficiency. Even though her students come to school eager to learn, not all of them are 100% ready for their expected reading level.
Over the past four years, Hutchinson Elementary School’s percentage of students reading at or above grade level increased from 29% (2021) to 59% (2025).
“We knew we needed to do something extra,” St. Joy said.
Through the Orton-Gillingham training course, her staff will delve into a more technical approach to teaching literacy and learning how to create literacy rich spaces for students. By the end of the year, all the educators in the program will have earned an Orton-Gillingham certification. “As educators, we have to keep on learning,” she added. “We want our teachers to have as much knowledge in their subject area as possible and a teacher’s tool belt is never fully complete. I’m super excited that we got into this program because now we have the opportunity to cover those knowledge gaps that we may have as adults and make sure that we all have a high level of implementation here at the school so we can start to see those gaps close.”