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Bella Vista Elementary kindergarten teacher Tamara Coombs began her 13-year education career in the library — the place “where you really plant seeds of loving to read,” she told the Deseret News.
Coombs later made the switch to teaching first grade and eventually pivoted to teaching kindergartners, whom she has taught for the past two years.
Coombs, who won the “Teacher of the Year” award for the 2022-23 school year at Bella Vista, an elementary school in Canyons School District, is known for passing on her love of reading to her students. “One area of strength has been her ability to foster a deep love of reading,” Bella Vista’s site says of Coombs. “Mrs. Coombs had such a positive influence on my daughter and helped her develop her love of reading. Mrs. Coombs encouraged my daughter to read new and different genres. She encouraged her to push herself and read books that might otherwise have seemed above her grade level,” a parent said.
Coombs is not alone in fostering a passionate reading environment in her classroom, as hundreds of kindergarten teachers have helped to boost their students’ reading scores throughout Utah, which was ranked the second-best state in education, according to a 2024 report from U.S. News & World Report.
The Utah State Board of Education recently announced significant improvement in reading proficiency among Utah’s kindergartners, according to data from Acadience Reading, an assessment tool utilized throughout the United States that measures basic early literacy skills and helps track student progress.
According to Acadience Reading, 70% of kindergartners in 93 Utah schools, spanning across 22 districts and including three charter schools, are at the “above benchmark” level in reading. “Scoring ‘above benchmark’ means a student has a 90-99 percent chance of meeting subsequent literacy benchmarks and may benefit from instruction on more advanced skills,” per the USBE.
Here’s are some key points from Acadience Reading’s data, provided by the USBE:
The USBE also requires kindergarten through third grade teachers to participate in a professional “science of reading” learning where they learn how the young mind is wired and how to implement best strategies for teaching students to read, Christine Elegante, a former elementary school teacher and a current K-3 literacy specialist with the board of education, told the Deseret News.
“These achievements demonstrate the effectiveness of Utah’s educational strategies in providing our youngest students with a strong foundation in literacy. By equipping students with essential reading skills early on, Utah is supporting long-term academic success and empowering students to reach their full potential,” Sydnee Dickson, state superintendent of public instruction, said in the USBE’s news release. “As Utah continues to prioritize early literacy development, the state is positioned to continue its upward trajectory in reading proficiency and prepare students for academic challenges in the future.”
Kindergartners’ improved reading skills, according to the USBE, are “likely linked to the expansion of full-day kindergarten programs statewide and initiatives focused on enhancing reading instruction.”
Last year, the Utah Legislature passed HB477, a bill that expanded access to full-day kindergarten options in Utah schools. Since March of 2023, when the bill passed, the Beehive State has seen a steady, significant increase in full-day kindergarten enrollment. This past school year, Elegante said, 77% of Utah kindergartners attended full-day kindergarten.
Coombs shared that having that extra time with students has dramatically improved the quality of their learning as a whole, not just their reading scores.
Elegante credits the full-day kindergarten expansion for having a big role in the reading gains. “This wouldn’t have been made possible if they hadn’t invested the money,” Elegante said of Utah’s legislators. “Full-day kindergarten, and having that funding available for anyone who wants to attend,” she told the Deseret News, “is one of the best things we’ve done in education.”
The full-day schedule, Elegante said, offers a wide variety of student and teacher benefits, including:
When quantifying it, Elegante said that full-day kindergartners receive roughly an entire additional month of learning compared to their half-day peers, on average. Although kindergarten is an optional grade in the state of Utah, the earlier we invest in students, the better, Elegante said.
“Don’t underestimate our youngest learners. They are just so eager and they are so capable,” she said.
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