Empowering Upper Elementary and Middle School Educators With Aspire

For administrators in Michigan school districts, offering Lexia Aspire® Professional Learning can elevate literacy instruction and build teacher confidence.

This case study shows how a district employed Aspire to help teachers accelerate students’ literacy skills in older age groups. Aspire provides science of reading training for upper elementary through high school educators.

A large school district serving 30,000 students across 44 sites saw literacy gains with Lexia® LETRS® Professional Learning for K–3 educators. The district built on that success by offering Aspire to educators of older age groups. As the district phased in Aspire's professional learning during the 2024–2025 school year, it saw the following early results:

• Teachers began rethinking assumptions, realizing that older students can continue to develop foundational reading skills.

• Educators started applying their learning immediately.

• Interest grew beyond the initial professional learning requirement.

“After Aspire, they do feel really confident,” Catherine Guillory, elementary ELA and library science specialist for grades K–5, said of the district’s teachers. “They’ll say, ‘I used this in the classroom. I did this with a student. I felt bad because he couldn’t read or he couldn’t write, and I knew I was supposed to fix it, and I did.’”

Download the case study to learn how the district implemented Aspire and explore the outcomes it is achieving.