Alachua County leaders continue to marshal support to raise literacy rates, both in schools and for area adults, passing a motion to flip into the next chapter of a four-part plan.  

At Monday’s joint meeting, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and Children’s Trust of Alachua County (CTAC) heard an overview of the first phase, a Comprehensive Literacy Needs Assessment completed by UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning.  

The BOCC also voted to allocate $250,000 to enter Phase 2, building the actual plan to fill gaps highlighted in the assessment. The process to build the plan could take three to five months and will involve a facilitated workshop with stakeholders.  

Phase 3 would implement the created plan, while Phase 4 would evaluate its effectiveness.

BOCC Commissioner Anna Prizzia said literacy is a problem for the entire community to tackle, addressing any concerns that the county was wading outside its jurisdiction. She said the county needs to back efforts, not just leave the problem to the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC).  

Commissioner Ken Cornell, who is also the CTAC chair, agreed. He said he’s ready for the county to invest real resources into literacy. He said $250,000 might be on the light side, but it’ll get the county started until a budget comes forward for the plan’s implementation. 

“This is not a school board problem. This is not a Children’s Trust problem. This is a community problem,” Cornell said.  

The SBAC also supported the assessment, and a major part of the study involved entering the schools and surveying parents, teachers and students.  

SBAC Member Tina Certain said literacy may be a community issue, but it’s the school board’s primary responsibility. She pointed to the district’s $600 million annual budget and said when others are tightening budgets, it’s unfair to ask for help. 

“We have to do better, and I think this lies with the school district,” Certain said.  

Even before the assessment kicked off, local leaders agreed that Alachua County’s literacy rates were at unacceptable levels. UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning, as part of the $175,000 assessment, put more numbers to the problem and also looked for gaps and opportunities to support the school district.  

Dr. Mary Bratsch-Hines presented the assessment results at the Monday meeting. She pointed out that, over the last four school years, the school district has had an average of 50-55% of students hitting grade-level reading by the end of third grade. 

Bratsch-Hines separated the numbers by ethnicity, showing Asian American students with the highest average (75% to 78%) while Black students recorded the lowest average (25-33%). According to the data from state testing, an average of 65-75% of white students reach grade-level standards in the third grade, while Hispanic students trended close to the overall average with 50-60%.  

Alachua County leaders have set a goal of 90% of third graders hitting the grade level standard.

The assessment highlighted three big themes to address: enhanced awareness and communication, focused support and expanded professional learning. 

Each theme had more specific focus areas as follows:  

Enhanced awareness and communication 

• Increase inter-organization alignment 

• Create a centralized resource hub 

• Strengthen community engagement 

• Promote reading engagement 

Focused support  

• Support early learning 

• Support English language learners 

• Support Black students 

• Support adult learners 

• Support access to free or low-cost tutoring 

• Support families through workshops 

Expanded professional learning 

• Professional learning for early learning providers 

• Professional learning for community organizations 

• Professional learning for Alachua County Public Schools 

BOCC Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler focused on teachers and providing support for them. She said curriculums seem to change frequently and leave educators constantly trying to catch up and get comfortable with the curriculum or the next new program.  

“Rather than investing in the new shiny curriculum, we really need to invest in our teachers and making sure that they are getting the compensation they deserve,” Wheeler said.  

Last week, the school district reached an agreement with the teachers’ union for a 1.3% increase in salaries. Union President Carmen Ward called the deal “hostile” but said the union agreed because it felt any chance of a raise was almost gone.  

That deal remains contingent on a vote by SBAC and the union members.  

Certain traced literacy problems, and other educational issues, to the school board’s decision to implement neighborhood schools in the early 2000s. She said that decision has concentrated low-income students and students with a lot of issues to overcome. She said these schools are often staffed with the newest, least-experienced teachers. Coupled with high turnover, Certain said the neighborhood school system has failed.  

But Certain said she would not excuse SBAC for the job it had to do.  

CTAC Member Lee Pinkoson pointed out that around half of students enter kindergarten unprepared for school, according to state FAST Scores at the start of kindergarten. He said that compounds the school district’s job, and members discussed the need for good daycares and Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) programs.  

Prizzia made the motion to earmark the initial $250,000 and have the plan return with a formal budget for the cost of implementation.  

CTAC will also contribute to the plan, but Cornell said the trust wanted to wait and see what the county would designate before voting.  

Bratsch-Hines and the UF assessment noted a large number of literacy resources in the Alachua County area. She said there was lack of coordination among those resources.  

In total, the assessment lists around 53 local organizations working in the space. However, these organizations ranged from those laser-focused on literacy, like PEAK Literacy and the Rotary Club’s Reading Safari, to organizations loosely associated with the issue like the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and CareerSource of North Central Florida.