Green Bay’s Jackson Elementary, along with 53 other Wisconsin schools, will host a state-funded literacy coach under Act 20, the 2023 science of reading law.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced the selected schools April 29. The literacy coaching program, which was created under Act 20, is backed by more than $9 million in state funding approved in 2025. Jackson and the other schools, which include both public and private schools, will directly hire the literacy coaches under contracts with DPI.
The coaches will join the schools over the next two years, according to the DPI. Green Bay said the timeline for its new coach’s hiring will depend on when it signs a contract with DPI.
Literacy coaches will work with teachers, with the goal of increasing the number of students meeting grade-level reading standards by the end of third grade, the DPI said.
Jamie Kriewaldt, director of literacy for Green Bay, said in a statement the district was “pleased to have been selected” for the program.
“Participation in this initiative will strengthen our district-wide literacy systems and is aligned with our ongoing commitment to continuously enhancing our literacy coaching program,” Kriewaldt said in the statement.
Nearly 37% of Wisconsin students in 4-year-old kindergarten through third grade scored below the 25th percentile on early literacy assessments last school year, according to state data. The screeners evaluate students on reading skills and identify children at risk of reading difficulty.
According to state data, about 44% of screened Green Bay School Districts students in 4K through third grade scored below the 25th percentile in 2024-25. At Jackson, nearly 39% of screened students scored below the 25th percentile.
“Improving literacy takes sustained effort,” State Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. “This work is about doing what’s best for kids and making sure every student builds the strong reading foundation they need to succeed. That means ensuring educators have the time, support, and coaching necessary to meet students where they are.”
The state funding will provide a salary for 36 full-time equivalent coaches, though some schools may choose to provide additional funding to offer higher salaries, said DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher. Jackson’s coach will be full time.
The DPI selected schools to receive the funding through an application process based on geography, existing infrastructure to support the coaches and their third-grade reading results on the statewide Forward Exam.
In addition to creating the coaching program, Act 20 requires public school districts to focus on using a phonics-based method that focuses on sounding out letters. It prohibits “three-cueing,” which encourages students to focus on context clues such as the meaning, structure and letters in a sentence.
School districts across the state have seen new successes and challenges under Act 20. Last summer, Green Bay School District leaders said they’d seen kindergartners score higher than other grades on state reading screeners, which they said showed the new curriculum’s impact.
However, area leaders said the practicalities of implementing the law were often fiddly, costly and difficult to complete.
Reporter Kayla Huynh contributed.
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: GBAPS’ Jackson Elementary to receive state-funded reading coach
Reporting by Nadia Scharf and Kayla Huynh, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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