One District’s Search for an Intensive Reading Intervention That Works
When Gloucester Township School District began reexamining how it supports students with the most significant reading needs, district leaders recognized that a new approach was needed. Consistent with federal trends, students with disabilities in Gloucester Township—including those with learning disabilities like dyslexia—demonstrated notably lower reading proficiency rates than their peers without disabilities.
As Dr. Violet Martin, Director of Special Services, explained, the district was “looking for an intervention program that had teeth to it—one with evidence-based practices and a history of success.” Just as important, the district sought an efficient, easy-to-implement solution so that students and teachers could quickly see and experience progress.
Like all districts, Gloucester Township serves students who require explicit, systematic reading instruction. Because the district is deeply committed to inclusion, Dr. Martin and her team were intentional about identifying an intervention that could be used flexibly to remediate skill gaps in either self-contained or general education settings.
These priorities narrowed the field of options. While many literacy intervention programs are available, relatively few are evidence-based, Structured Literacy solutions designed specifically for intensive intervention or grounded in Orton-Gillingham practices to support mastery of foundational skills. Fewer still offer the flexibility needed to accommodate real-world scheduling and staffing constraints across a range of classroom settings.
SPIRE Up: A Right-Fit Intensive Intervention Solution
Gloucester Township’s search ultimately led the district to pilot SPIRE Up, a blended Structured Literacy solution designed for intensive reading intervention. Grounded in the science of reading and Orton-Gillingham principles, SPIRE Up supports students in grades 2-8 who require explicit, systematic, multisensory instruction to master foundational reading skills, cross the decoding threshold, and build lasting literacy.
“What stood out to us,” Dr. Martin shared, “was that SPIRE Up is structured in a way that allows students to receive small-group or one-to-one intervention and successfully return to the general education classroom.” For Gloucester Township, the balance of targeted remediation alongside inclusion was essential.
Instruction Works When Teachers are Supported
Early in the pilot, educators began to notice encouraging shifts. Dr. Martin observed that students were able to “go back into the general education setting and not fall behind.” The program’s blended design allowed teachers to deliver focused, teacher-led instruction while using fully integrated digital tools to reinforce learning and inform next steps.
Equally important was the implementation support provided to educators. Because Dr. Martin is not embedded in every building, access to coaching was critical. EPS Learning staff worked alongside teachers, listening, problem-solving, and supporting them as teachers used the program to meet their students’ needs. As Dr. Martin noted, “[EPS Learning] staff [were] able to sit with them, talk through individual plans, and show them how to use the program efficiently.” This job-embedded support helped sustain strong instruction even amid shifting staffing realities—a common challenge for districts across the country.
A Model for Inclusive, Evidence-Based Intervention
Today, SPIRE Up is being used in Gloucester Township’s smaller schools, embedded within daily intervention blocks. Special education teachers deliver intensive reading support while students remain connected to their general education classrooms.
In larger schools, the district continues to refine how more students can be supported through push-in models that provide individualized, evidence-based instruction within general education settings. Looking ahead, Dr. Martin is especially interested in expanding SPIRE Up into earlier grades, intervening sooner to prevent long-term reading difficulties before they take hold.
Ongoing Progress Through Partnership
Gloucester Township's experience serves as a reminder that meaningful improvement begins with honest reflection, recognizing when change is needed and clarifying what success should look like for both students and teachers. By selecting an evidence-based program and working closely with a partner committed to adapting teacher support along the way, the district strengthened both instruction and implementation. This result points to an important takeaway: when educators are supported with the right tools, guidance, and partnership, striving readers—and the teachers who serve them—can thrive.
