TPS Sets Goal for Every First Grader to Read at Grade Level
District expands literacy support following strong first-year Ignite Reading results
Taunton Public Schools students will begin another year of individualized literacy tutoring through Ignite Reading on Sept. 28 as the district expands its efforts to help students develop strong reading skills early in their education.
The work supports an ambitious TPS goal for the 2026-27 school year: 100% of first graders reading at grade level by June 30, 2027.
Students are assessed at the start of the school year to identify their individual reading needs. Those results help determine which students receive priority for one-on-one tutoring through Ignite Reading.
Ignite was one of the supports available to first graders during the 2025-26 school year, when 272 students at six TPS elementary schools participated in the program and received an average of 28.4 hours of individualized instruction.
Of those who began the year missing foundational kindergarten reading skills, 93% closed those gaps. Of those who began the year missing first-grade skills, 57% progressed beyond first-grade benchmarks and were reading full sentences and paragraphs at a second-grade level.
“I was amazed by the growth I saw throughout the year,” said Nicholas Boyle, a first-grade teacher at East Taunton Elementary School. “Most importantly, Ignite has helped our students build confidence and become more excited about reading, and that is what makes it such a powerful tool in our classroom.”
For Fionna Williams, the impact of that additional support was something she saw at home.
“My son, Derrick, was struggling with reading at home, and it was a constant battle that left us all frustrated and feeling defeated and helpless,” said Williams, whose son is now a second grader at Chamberlain Elementary School. “I love reading, and my son sees me reading books all the time, so it would break my heart when he would try to sit and read as well but just give up when things became difficult.”
Derrick began Ignite Reading below grade level in first grade and ended the school year above grade level.
“I am truly grateful that he had the opportunity to participate in a program like this,” Williams said. “He loves to read now, both on his own and out loud to other people.”
For TPS, Derrick’s experience reflects an important part of the district’s approach to literacy: Students learn to read at different rates and may need different levels of support along the way.
“Every child comes to reading with different strengths and different needs,” Director of Humanities Danielle Coute said. “The progress we are seeing is the result of a collective effort. Our educators are providing strong, intentional literacy instruction each day, caregivers are reinforcing learning and encouraging reading at home, and programs like Ignite provide additional support for students who need it. Ignite is one piece of that larger effort to help every student become a confident, successful reader.”
Expanding Support This School Year
TPS was awarded 271 high-dosage tutoring seats for the 2026-27 school year through a state-supported early literacy tutoring opportunity offered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
First graders who are below or significantly below grade-level benchmarks based on the district’s screening assessment receive priority for tutoring. Once eligible first graders have been served, additional seats may be used for students in kindergarten through third grade.
Students participating in high-dosage tutoring receive daily, 15-minute, one-on-one virtual sessions during the school day. Beginning in January, an additional 30 second graders will have access to lower-dosage tutoring as part of a state pilot program.
Together, the 301 tutoring seats have an estimated value of $752,500 and are supported through state and federal funding.
Strengthening Literacy Across the District
The expanded tutoring is one part of a broader investment in literacy across TPS.
In July, the district received a $277,020 Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts III grant. The three-year grant will support the district’s work to strengthen reading instruction in fourth and fifth grade and create greater consistency for students as they move between the two grades.
The funding will also provide additional support and training for teachers as they use the district’s Wonders 2023 English language arts curriculum. A literacy coach will work directly with educators, help them use student data to guide instruction and provide professional development throughout the three-year initiative.
Combined, the Ignite Reading tutoring opportunity and PRISM III grant represent more than $1 million in state- and federally supported literacy resources secured by TPS to expand support for students and strengthen literacy instruction without adding those costs to the district’s locally funded operating budget.