Registration is now open for Cohort 5 of LETRS, the Kentucky Department of Education's statewide professional learning initiative that equips educators to strengthen early literacy instruction through evidence-based practices.

Educators and administrators can register through Aug. 21 for the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program, which aims to implement evidence-based practices that lead to stronger reading outcomes for students. Since fall 2022, more than 8,000 Kentucky educators and administrators have participated in LETRS professional learning.

The initiative represents a major commitment to implement the Read to Succeed Act, which the Kentucky General Assembly passed in 2022 to improve literacy outcomes for all students and is being coordinated by the Kentucky Department of Education's Division of Early Literacy.

Recent data demonstrates the program's effectiveness. Schools with more LETRS-trained teachers experienced stronger growth in the share of students reaching proficiency in reading, with schools above the state average in LETRS participation seeing a 4.26% increase in students reaching proficiency from 2023 to 2025, compared to 2.90% in schools below the average. The analysis, based on data from 574 elementary schools across 135 districts, found that schools with more LETRS-trained teachers experienced stronger growth in the share of students reaching proficient levels and greater reduction of novice-level readers.

LETRS participants engage in professional learning over two years covering eight units on essential literacy topics including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, writing and assessment, with each unit including asynchronous study and six hours of facilitator-led learning. The comprehensive, no-cost professional learning opportunity is open to all K-5 public school educators.

Two courses are offered through the Kentucky Reading Academies: LETRS for Educators and LETRS for Administrators. Kentucky Department of Education Chief Academic Officer Micki Marinelli said the findings show "many great things about the training's positive impact on early literacy in the Commonwealth."