First grade teacher Presley Peyton Stuber at Flat Lick Elementary School in Knox County is in her fifth year of teaching. This year is her second year teaching first grade and first time teaching from a high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) for reading and writing. When asked to explain what she is loving about teaching reading this year, she talked about strong student engagement and how her students are interested in the texts the HQIR provides. “I like that my students are getting the opportunity to ‘travel to’ and explore places they may never have the chance to see.”

Prior to implementing the HQIR, Stuber was not as confident or excited about teaching reading. However, now, reading has become her favorite subject to teach. In her words, “I could teach reading all day!” She says her students are eager to learn because they know they are going to gain more information from reading every day – that’s how their HQIR works.

Knox County is in the early stages of implementation for their adopted HQIR aligned to KRS 158.305. The district adopted a knowledge building and comprehensive Tier 1 reading and writing program, meaning the resource includes comprehension instruction as well as foundational skills instruction. Comprehensive programs address the language comprehension and word recognition portions of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Learn more about Scarborough’s Reading Rope and structured literacy on the KDE’s Structured Literacy webpage.