Florida Literacy and Reading Excellence (FLaRE)

The Florida Literacy and Reading Excellence (FLaRE) professional development model aims to build schools’ capacity to become independent in implementing research-proven practices to address students’ literacy needs. This study compared outcomes for schools receiving FLaRE support vs. schools not receiving FLaRE support, and for schools receiving Level 1 FLaRE support (the highest level) vs. schools receiving Level 3 support (the lowest level).
 

Key Findings

  • Results showed no statistically significant impact of FLaRE for high schools across Florida, perhaps because comparison schools were doing substantial professional development as well.
  • Additional analyses suggested that FLaRE had a positive impact on teacher knowledge and practice, especially (a) using data to inform instruction, (b) trying new instructional strategies, (c) knowledge and skills of new teachers, (d) collaboration among teachers, and (e) willingness of content area teachers to integrate explicit vocabulary and reading comprehension instruction into their lessons.
  • For the smallest schools, adding to current practice 6.5 hours per month of direct, in-classroom modeling and co-teaching by coordinators may increase the number of students reaching highest standards in reading by 10%.