With only 36% of Lehighton’s third graders reading at or above benchmark last year, district leaders are rolling out a new professional development program they hope will transform classroom instruction and improve student achievement.

The initiative, presented at Monday’s school board meeting, will focus on strengthening Tier 1 instruction — the district’s core, direct and explicit teaching — so fewer students need remedial help later.

“Professional development is really near and dear to the growth and development of not only our teachers, but it impacts our students directly with growth and achievement,” said Tricia Foster, LASD principal of academic intervention and achievement. “It equips teachers to respond directly to what student data reveals, and it provides the tools to refine and strengthen instruction.”

Foster outlined a plan that emphasizes short, focused workshops teachers can apply immediately. Sessions will run 60 to 90 minutes after school and combine mini-lessons with collaborative planning. Teachers will leave, she said, with classroom-ready strategies to use the very next day.

“You want professional development to be something that is quickly turned around in the hands of teachers,” Foster said.

The sessions will cover high-impact strategies developed by researcher John Hattie, including teacher clarity, direct instruction and specific feedback. Teachers will also deepen their use of literacy programs such as Bookworms and University of Florida Literacy Institute while aligning with the science of reading.

“When you have strong Tier 1 core instruction, your need for intervention becomes less,” Foster said. “The only way we can do this is to provide structured time and space that is collaborative and allows for planning across the district and across grade levels.”

The program is designed to address both strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope model: word recognition for early grades and language comprehension for upper elementary. Strategies include “paragraph shrinking,” where students summarize a paragraph in 10 words or fewer, and “signposts,” which teach them to identify moments in text that carry deeper meaning.

Board member Joy Beers noted that national statistics underscore the urgency of the effort.

“I recently read an article that said the functional literacy of adults in the United States right now is only 55%,” she said.

Foster said the district’s training is designed to change how reading is taught.

“What this professional development is going to do is show the difference in what reading instruction needs to look like,” she said. “It needs to look like critical thinking and deeper comprehension.”

She added that research shows students benefit when they engage with grade-level texts, even if they are reading below level.

“Putting them in grade-level text is only going to enhance their understanding,” she said.

Foster acknowledged that local data reflects a challenge.

“We need 80% of students reading on grade level to be considered healthy,” she said. “But I’m confident in the work we’re doing and the team we have in place. I’m excited to see the growth.”

Superintendent Jason Moser said the after-school sessions will be voluntary but funded through the district’s professional development budget.

“These sessions will be a great investment,” Moser said. “If teachers want to be there, they will strengthen their own skills, help each other out, and be able to impact their students within 24 hours.”

He contrasted the new approach with traditional conferences.

“A lot of professional development sessions are flybys where you go to a conference for a few days and come back energized for a little while, but there’s no sustainability,” Moser said. “Research shows adult learning happens best when it’s delivered in short amounts of time, repeated and sustained over a long period.”

Board members said they look forward to updates as the program unfolds.

“I look forward to hearing hopefully over the next couple of years what these programs bring to our children,” director Jeremy Glaush said.