Late Start Mondays Are Powering IREAD Growth

A little over a year ago, Wayne Township launched Late Start Mondays and asked families for something significant: two hours every Monday morning. With the first full year behind us, the IREAD results show what that time made possible: significant, systemic growth.

In 2026, 77% of Wayne Township third graders passed IREAD, up from 65% in 2024. That 12-percentage-point climb puts our district above its highest pre-pandemic pass rate.

The growth is showing up in schools across the district:

• Nine of our eleven elementary schools now have at least 70% of third graders passing. In 2024, only three did.
• Five schools (Bridgeport, Chapelwood, McClelland, Rhoades, and Robey) are at or above 80%.
• Two schools have passed the 90% mark: Robey at 91% and McClelland at 90%.
• Bridgeport posted the district's largest two-year gain, rising 22 percentage points, from 60% to 82%. Maplewood and Rhoades each gained 21 percentage points.
• Rhoades Elementary ranked first among Marion County public schools for IREAD growth since 2019, rising from 56.5% to 82.3%.

We're closing the gap with the state, too. In 2021, Wayne Township trailed the state pass rate by 19 points. Today that gap is 12 points, and it is shrinking.

Our second graders, who take IREAD a year early to get a head start, are also moving forward. The district pass rate for second graders rose from 28% in 2024 to 45% in 2026. Ten schools now have at least 40% of second graders passing. Robey leads at 66%, and Chapelwood and Robey have each gained 34 points since 2024.

What Happens on Monday Mornings 

Late Start Mondays provide teachers, interventionists, coaches, and support staff dedicated time each week to work as one coordinated system: study student data together, align instruction across classrooms and intervention groups, and make shared decisions about what each student needs next. That collaborative time is focused on instruction grounded in the science of reading, including the UFLI and Wonders curricula, which give every school a common language and a proven approach to teaching foundational skills.

At Westlake Elementary, teams follow shared norms and a step-by-step planning process. They sort student work into three groups (proficient, progressing, and far from proficient) and decide together what each group needs next. Their motto: WE > ME.

At McClelland Elementary, third grade teachers used the time to answer three questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? Every student was placed into intervention groups. By midyear, their third graders' average reading fluency had grown from 64 to 97 words per minute.

At Chapel Glen Elementary, Monday planning drives STARS, a daily intervention block where every adult in the building leads a small reading group matched to current student data.

The common thread is a shift in mindset. These aren't “my students” or “your students.” They are “our students.”

High Expectations, Productive Struggle

Our strategic plan calls on all of us, students and adults alike, to engage in productive struggle to reach our full potential. Last year's growth came from exactly that.

McClelland teachers describe a year of stepping out of their comfort zones, learning to trust colleagues with "their" students, and opening their own intervention plans for the whole team to see. At Chapel Glen, staff talk about pushing through the "overwhelming" early phase of a new system until it became a shared, school-wide way of working. Changes like these aren't easy. They matter because they keep the focus where it belongs: on what each student needs next.

Thank You, Families

We know Late Start Mondays changed your routines, from work schedules to childcare to busy mornings. Your flexibility gives our staff time to create the conditions for collaboration and data-driven growth, and it's working.

As we begin our second year of Late Start Mondays, there is more work ahead. Our goal is for every child to leave third grade a confident reader.