From Pandemic Setbacks to Literacy Gains: How One Ohio District Transformed English Learner Success

The Unique Struggles of English Learners in Elementary Schools

Elementary school presents a host of challenges for any child: navigating friendships, mastering multiplication, and learning to read. For students who are simultaneously acquiring English, these tasks become exponentially more difficult. In Troy City Schools, a small public district north of Cincinnati, educators recognized that their English learner (EL) population—about 3 percent of the 4,000 students—faced additional barriers. These students come from homes where Spanish, Ukrainian, Japanese, or other languages are spoken, and many are recent arrivals adjusting to a new country as well as a new language.

The pandemic only worsened the situation. National data shows that ELs have historically lagged behind their peers in reading achievement, and the disruptions of 2020 caused those gaps to widen further. In Troy, teachers noticed heightened frustration and withdrawal among EL students, particularly when it came to phonics—the foundational skill of connecting letters to sounds. Something had to change.

A District's Commitment to Equitable Learning Opportunities

Sarah Walters, a literacy instructional support specialist in the district, emphasizes that helping multilingual students master English is essential for their long-term success. "We want to help the students continue to thrive, and really everything that we're thinking about with our student services is equitable learning opportunities," she says. This commitment drove the district to seek a comprehensive solution that would close literacy gaps and support ELs in a holistic way.

After three years of planning and evaluation following the pandemic, Troy City Schools secured funding through post-COVID relief grants and district budget allocations. The goal was clear: implement a research-based literacy approach that could be scaled across all elementary campuses. The chosen method was the Orton-Gillingham approach, a multisensory technique that integrates movement, touch, and visual cues into reading instruction. Danielle Romine, director of elementary teaching and learning for the district, notes that the investment was significant but necessary.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach: A Multisensory Solution

Orton-Gillingham is not a new program, but its structured, explicit instruction suits the needs of ELs particularly well. By engaging multiple senses—seeing, hearing, touching, and moving—students build stronger neural connections for letter-sound relationships. In Troy, 116 staff members, including every elementary teacher, intervention specialist, paraprofessional, and principal, underwent training in this method through the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education. Walters herself became certified and now leads ongoing support for her colleagues.

For ELs, the multisensory aspect reduces reliance on verbal explanation alone. A student might trace a letter in sand while saying its sound, or use hand gestures to remember vowel patterns. These techniques help overcome the frustration that had been so common in classrooms. According to Walters, the approach also addresses social-emotional needs by giving students successful experiences with reading, building their confidence and willingness to engage.

Overcoming Funding and Implementation Hurdles

Implementing such a large-scale initiative took time. After the pandemic, district leaders mulled over options for three years before the necessary funding materialized. The money came from COVID-relief grants and reallocated budget lines, demonstrating a strong prioritization of literacy equity. Training all 116 staff members required coordinated schedules and buy-in from every school level. Romine credits the patience and perseverance of the team for making the program a reality.

The district also had to ensure that instruction was consistent across classrooms, rather than fragmented as it had been in 2020. Now, every elementary teacher uses the same multisensory techniques, creating a unified approach that benefits ELs regardless of which classroom they enter. This consistency has been key to the early success stories emerging from Troy City Schools.

Measurable Progress and Future Directions

While the district is still in the early stages of implementation, the initial results are encouraging. Teachers report that EL students are more engaged and less frustrated during reading instruction. Scores on phonics assessments are climbing, and the social-emotional toll that Walters observed is decreasing. The district continues to monitor data closely, adjusting strategies as needed to ensure all students make gains.

For Sarah Walters and her colleagues, the work is far from over. The goal is to sustain these improvements and expand them to older students. But the shift in mindset—from seeing ELs as a challenge to embracing their potential—has already transformed the culture in Troy City Schools. As the district demonstrates, even a relatively small number of English learners can make big strides when given equitable, research-backed support.