Charleston County School District (CCSD) is making its most significant investment to date in evidence based reading instruction. The district is expanding its partnership with the Lowcountry Literacy Project (LLP) to equip and support 126 additional educators during the 2026–2027 school year.
The massive initiative brings together 105 educators from 13 local schools alongside members of the district's Curriculum & Instruction team. This fall, they will begin rigorous, Orton-Gillingham structured literacy training. They join 21 Charleston County educators who already kicked off independent training this summer via philanthropic scholarships provided by LLP.
Together, these educators represent a major milestone in the district's commitment to ensuring every child has access to high quality reading instruction grounded in the science of reading.
Unlike traditional professional development, this partnership is deeply rooted in real world implementation. Participating teachers will complete coursework followed by a full year of side by side classroom coaching, observations, structured feedback, and school based support. This ensures educators can confidently translate theory into daily, impactful classroom instruction.
This initiative is made possible through an innovative, shared investment model combining public and philanthropic support:
- CCSD is funding the foundational professional learning for all participating educators.
- Philanthropic partners are funding the critical, year-long classroom coaching to ensure lasting implementation and sustainable change.
"This partnership reflects a shared belief that investing in teachers is the most effective way to improve student literacy outcomes," said Lindsey Ballenger, Executive Director of the Lowcountry Literacy Project. "When teachers receive both high-quality preparation and ongoing coaching, it creates a powerful multiplier effect. The impact extends far beyond a single classroom or school year; every educator who builds this expertise will influence hundreds of students throughout their career, fundamentally changing the literacy trajectory of our entire community."
“Expanding this partnership is one of the many ways Charleston County School District is strengthening literacy instruction across our schools,” said Superintendent Anita Huggins. “We are incredibly grateful to the Lowcountry Literacy Project and its partners for sharing our commitment to investing in educators and supporting students. Building teacher expertise through evidence-based professional learning and ongoing coaching is a key strategy in our work to improve student outcomes and ensure every child develops the reading skills necessary for future success. As this work continues, we will measure its impact by studying student achievement in participating schools, ensuring our investments are translating into stronger literacy outcomes and helping us identify best practices that can be expanded across the district.”
By training in school based cohorts, teams of teachers will learn and implement these strategies together, establishing a unified instructional approach. Integrating members of CCSD's Curriculum & Instruction team further strengthens the district’s internal capacity to sustain and scale these evidence-based literacy practices for the long term.
This new cohort joins a rapidly growing network of local educators. By the end of this school year, 251 CCSD educators will have completed the training, creating one of the largest regional networks of teachers utilizing Orton-Gillingham aligned structured literacy practices.
The expansion builds on a successful partnership that began in 2021 with founding partner schools (James B. Edwards, Jennie Moore, and St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science) and expanded in 2025 to Ladson and Dunston Elementary Schools.
New participating Schools for the 2026–2027 Cohort:
- AC Corcoran Elementary
- Carolina Park Elementary
- Hursey Montessori School
- James Simons Montessori School
- Johns Island Elementary
- Memminger Elementary
- Montessori Community School
- Mount Pleasant Academy
- Springfield Elementary
- Sullivan's Island Elementary
- Whitesides Elementary