Staff report
The Kentucky Department of Education is zeroing in on lessons learned in case studies on Read to Succeed, following indepth the experiences of select schools to see how they are sustaining improvements over time.
One of those schools is Taylor Mill Elementary which is demonstrating what’s possible when a school community fully commits to evidence-based early literacy instruction. The case study on Taylor Mill Elementary highlights how the school’s focused implementation of high-quality instructional resources is strengthening teacher practice — and student outcomes.
The full case study includes concrete examples, education reflections and a closer look at how Taylor Mill is sustaining improvement in reading, writing, and literacy over time.
The full case study can be accessed on the Kentucky Reading Academies webpage can be accessed here.
Taylor Mill Elementary, one of ten elementary schools in Kenton County School District, is in the northernmost region of the state. The school serves just under 500 preK-5 students and maintains a student-to-teacher ratio of 16:1. Taylor Mill Elementary’s demographic composition reflects a predominantly White student body (86%), with smaller proportions of students who identify as Hispanic/Latino (4%), African American (3%), Asian (1%) or two or more races (6%). Nearly half of the student population benefit from free or reduced lunch (KDE, n.d.-b).
Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) data from the 2023-2024 school year (SY) show that 65% of Taylor Mill students were proficient (38%) or distinguished (27%) in reading. Over the past 3 school years, Taylor Mill increased the percentage of students scoring in the proficient/distinguished range of the KSA and decreased the percentage of students in the novice range, a trend that was even more pronounced for economically disadvantaged students. Between SYs 2022–2023 2023 and 2023–2024, Taylor Mill increased its state-assigned overall performance rating from green to blue, with blue indicating the highest performance.
Taylor Mill Elementary has 12 teachers and administrators who completed or were in the process of completing LETRS training provided by the Department of Education. Those teachers and administrators passed what they learned on to their fellow educators, creating a whole school team with common goals.
Overall, this case study highlighted a shared commitment by Taylor Mill Elementary staff and Kenton County district staff to improve literacy instruction, continuous literacy support, and data-driven decision-making. This commitment is apparent at the district and school level via strategic professional learning initiatives and systematic implementation of evidence-based literacy practices.
The district’s success in fostering rich collaboration among teachers and leveraging data dashboards to monitor student performance reflects a robust infrastructure aimed at continuous improvement. As such, the Kenton County School District has cultivated an environment where informed decisions and targeted, evidence-based strategies have led to measurable progress in student literacy outcomes, as evidenced by remarkable improvements seen in KSA reading data and teachers’ growth as literacy practitioners.
The full report specifically mentions robust collaboration, emphasis on foundational skills, use of visual materials, recognizing each students’ individual needs, teacher support from the principal and the school district, frequent data review meetings, teachers willing to adapt to change and new teaching methods, and commitment to the common goal — improved student skills.