83 Degree Media
(August 15, 2023) An early literacy program created by the Pinellas Education Foundation and Pinellas County Schools has grown into a model for other Florida districts.

The Pinellas Early Literacy Initiative (PELI) initially launched during the 2021-22 school year, using a reading method developed by the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida. The schools where the research-based program has been implemented so far are seeing promising results in reading proficiency among kindergarten to second-grade students.

“I’m excited about the early data,’’ says Cassandra Murphy Atkins, reading and language arts specialist with Pinellas County Schools. “It gets me motivated to continue the work and I think it gets our teachers motivated to continue the work…. We’ll all breathe a sigh of relief once we start seeing the results year after year after year.”

Students in the first eight schools where PELI launched have had two years of reading under the program and are showing improved reading proficiency, Murphy Atkins says. The next eight schools, which started the program in the 2022-23 school year, are also showing progress.  Read More.