The Once Blog
Research, customer stories, and updates from Once
The latest from our team — research reports, customer trainings, press coverage, and more.
Quasi-Experimental Study on Impact of Once on Kindergarten Reading Growth 24-25 as Measured by Fastbridge
The first ESSA Tier II quasi-experimental study on Once — LXD Research finds a 0.46 standard deviation effect (p<0.001) for kindergarten students who received 80+ Once tutoring sessions.
2025-26 JHU–Once Randomized Controlled Trial Randomization Brief
Once is partnering with Johns Hopkins University on a multi-year randomized controlled trial to rigorously measure program impact on early-literacy outcomes.
Once Early-Reading Program's work in Sumter, South Carolina featured on WISTV
The Once Program's work in Sumter County is featured on WISTV, highlighting how kindergarten and 1st-grade students are building stronger early-literacy skills.
End-of-Year Report: Impact of Once on Kindergarten Reading Growth 24-25 as Measured by Fastbridge
An LXD Research study of 551 kindergarteners across 35 Southeast schools shows students who completed 80+ Once sessions were 7× more likely to reach low/no risk by spring.
End-of-Year Report: Impact of Once on Kindergarten Reading Growth 24-25 as Measured by i-Ready
A new LXD Research study of 822 kindergarten students found those receiving 20+ hours of 1:1 Once tutoring grew over 20 percentile points on i-Ready.
Customer Training — Back in Tangipahoa
Back in Tangipahoa Parish School System, we're training another round of Once instructors — growing the number of students who receive daily, 1:1 reading instruction.
Customer Training — Metro Nashville Public Schools
Once instructors across Metro Nashville Public Schools gathered this week for training, building the skills, strategies, and confidence to deliver daily 1:1 reading instruction.
Customer Training — Sumter
Team Once is on the road again — traveling to our 4th South Carolina school district. 21 new instructors are onboarding at Sumter School District.
Customer Training — Wentzville
Wentzville School District is officially trained and ready to launch — becoming the third district to join our partnership with Johns Hopkins University in a groundbreaking RCT.
Customer Training — Aiken County Public Schools
Two days, 58 instructors, and countless smiles. Aiken County Public Schools begins its third year partnering with Once to train reading instructors.
Customer Training — MSD of Lawrence Township
Once instructors across 2 schools in MSD Lawrence Township stepped up on day 1 to learn how to serve Kindergarten students — fueling growth and groundbreaking research.
Customer Training — New Glarus
We are thrilled to partner with New Glarus School District in Wisconsin — a team deeply aligned to the Science of Reading and ready to make big literacy gains.
Customer Training — Spartanburg 7
Three days of powerful training in Spartanburg 7 — instructors, educators, and leaders prepared to launch Once and help students grow as readers in just 15 minutes a day.
Customer Training — MSD Wayne
Once instructors at MSD Wayne Township in Indiana are officially trained — bringing daily 1:1 reading tutoring to kindergarteners as part of the Johns Hopkins RCT.
Customer Training — Hauʻula
Our Head of Academics, Nathan Patton, visited Hauʻula Elementary in Oʻahu, Hawaii — one of our favorite schools for Once training and implementation.
Customer Training — Goshen Community Schools
Once instructors are officially trained and ready to begin working with students at Chamberlain Elementary and Parkside Elementary in Goshen Community Schools.
Customer Training — Tangipahoa Parish School System
Once hosted 168 educators for Part One Onboarding, kicking off the Once program across Tangipahoa Parish. 81 instructors are ready to start teaching students to read with Once.
Customer Training — Okeechobee County Schools
Training 1 Once instructor for every elementary building in Okeechobee County — the first training of the year kicks off in Florida.
Welcome, Brett van Zuiden!
Brett joins Once to lead Product and Engineering — ensuring a seamless experience for instructors from onboarding through daily teaching.
Once is an approved Louisiana High-Dosage Tutoring Service Provider
Once has passed all requirements set by the Louisiana Department of Education and is ready to work with schools across the state.
Reflections on the 2025 National Student Support Accelerator Annual Research Conference
Our second year at the NSSA Annual Research Conference — a serious group sharing serious ideas on effective high-impact tutoring, with broader district and state representation.
New National Student Support Accelerator Report Studies Employing Paraprofessionals as High-Impact Tutors
Once is featured in an NSSA report studying the potential benefits of paraprofessionals as tutors in early elementary classrooms.
Customer Training — Aiken County Public Schools
Training 100+ instructors in Aiken County Public Schools to serve students at all 21 elementary schools in the district.
Customer Training — Metro Nashville (2024)
Back-to-school instructor training kicks off with Metro Nashville Public Schools — our second year in Nashville, working with more schools across the city.
Once at 2024 SCASA Innovative Ideas Institute
Once will be at the 2024 South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) Innovative Ideas Institute from June 16-18 — visit Booth 115.
End-of-Year Report: Impact of Once on K Reading Growth 23-24 as Measured by i-Ready
LXD Research's 2023-24 end-of-year analysis across three schools showed kindergarten students on Once grew from the 38th to the 67th percentile nationally on i-Ready.
End-of-Year Report: Impact of Once on K Reading Growth 23-24 as Measured by aimswebPlus
A gap-closing impact study — kindergarten students using Once at an Ohio school grew faster than their national peers and the rest of the district on aimswebPlus.
Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Early Literacy Outcomes: A Pilot Study of a 1:1 Program With Existing Staff
A 2022-23 Stanford NSSA pilot study of Once tutoring in a large urban district — students receiving Once scored two points higher on end-of-year DIBELS than peers.
We're Hiring Instructional Coaches! (24/25)
Once is hiring Instructional Coaches for the 24/25 school year to remotely coach school-based instructors tutoring early-elementary students in foundational reading.
We're Hiring a Head of Training!
Once is hiring a Head of Training (reporting to the CEO) to design remote/asynchronous training systems, hire contract trainers, and evaluate training quality at scale.
Once Selected as Arkansas-Approved Tutoring Vendor
Once was approved as an Arkansas state-approved tutoring vendor for In-Person K-1 1:1 High-Dosage Tutoring occurring during the school day anywhere in Arkansas.
Once Early-Reading Program featured on Charlotte NPR Affiliate WFAE
WFAE journalist Ann Doss Helms visits Oakdale Elementary in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to see how Once is using high-dosage kindergarten tutoring to keep students from ever falling behind.
Once Early-Reading Program featured on The74
Julian Roberts-Grmela of The74 reports on Once's vision: what if every kindergartner got a reading tutor from the start, so they never fall behind?
Happy Holidays!
The Once team gathered for a virtual holiday party to share updates, reflections on 2023, and plans for 2024 — wishing our community a happy and healthy holiday season.
Once Early-Reading Program's Work in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, North Carolina, featured on WCNC Charlotte
WCNC's Tradesha Woodard explains how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Stanford University are partnering to study the Once program's impact for the 2023-2024 school year.
New Report Shares Promising Practices for Implementing High-Dosage Tutoring in American Schools
Accelerate and Mathematica release a new report summarizing best practices and lessons learned from their first cohort of Call to Effective Action grantees, including Once.
2023 AAESA Fall Instructional Leadership Conference
Director of District Partnerships Cindy Hollar traveled to the 2023 AAESA Fall Instructional Leadership Conference in Alabama to learn, collaborate, and share Once's work.
Once Early-Reading Program's Work in Metro Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, featured on NewsChannel 5
News Channel 5 education reporter Kelsey Gibbs breaks the story of how Metro Nashville Public Schools and Stanford are collaborating with Once on a randomized controlled trial.
International Dyslexia Association DyslexiaCon23
LXD Research's Dr. Rachel Schechter attended the IDA 2023 Annual Reading, Literacy & Learning Conference to share her work studying Once's impact on kindergarten reading growth.
Once Early-Reading Program's Work in South Bend, Indiana featured on WSBT-22
WSBT-22's Operation Education reporter Kristin Bien features Once in two segments — one on the Stanford RCT, another showing Once in action at Kennedy Academy and Darden Elementary.
Once Parent Letter Now in 8 Languages
Thanks to Washington D.C. Public Schools, our parent letter is now available in Mandarin and Amharic — bringing the total to eight languages, with more to come.
Customer Training — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 2023
Dozens of instructors onboarded in Charlotte last week — with school-level and district-level administrators attending to support the instructors.
Customer Training — Washington DC Public Schools 2023
Back in our nation's capital to train more instructors and bring more schools on board. Returning instructors showed great leadership, welcoming new team members.
Once Parent Letter Now in 6 Languages
Thanks to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, our parent letter is now available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, and Russian — with more languages to come.
Customer Training — Cleveland Metropolitan School District 2023
Training instructors in Cleveland — from Once-decked returning champions to students bringing coffee, flowers from a husband, pizza, and kindergarteners about to read off the charts.
Customer Training — South Bend Community School Corporation 2023
Training instructors at two South Bend schools — creative instructors, fantastic questions, and supportive school- and district-level administrators.
Customer Training — Metro Nashville Public Schools 2023
Training 20 school-based instructors across 6 schools in Metro Nashville Public Schools — blown away by their curiosity and enthusiasm.
Customer Training — Sumter School District 2023
Millwood Elementary — winner of the Once class-pilot contest — trained in person to work with 20 K/1 students in focused 1:1 reading instruction.
Customer Training — Dallas 2023
Training reading instructors at Kids Concept Day Care in Dallas, Texas — bringing Once back to its roots of teaching preschoolers how to read.
Council of Great City Schools Curriculum and Instruction 2023 Recap
Reflections from the CGCS 20th Curriculum, Research, and Instructional Leaders Meeting in Portland — outcomes, equity, and standout sessions on early literacy.
See You at Council of the Great City Schools Conference!
Once is honored to sponsor the Council of the Great City Schools Curriculum, Research, and Instructional Leaders Meeting in Portland — come find our team.
Once 2023 Summer Off-site Recap
Our second in-person company off-site in Charlotte, NC — a fantastic blend of productivity, relationship-building, and meetings with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders.
End-of-Year Report: Impact of Once on K Reading Growth 22-23
Once Research Report for Kindergarten 22-23 from LXD Research, measuring Once's impact on kindergarten reading achievement during the 2022-23 school year.
Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools Convention
Join Once at the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS) Convention on June 11 — meet Cindy Hollar at booth 81 to learn about our daily 1:1 tutoring approach.
Customer Training — Mississippi
Training three new reading instructors in Vicksburg, MS — setting them up for a fantastic summer program with rising kindergarteners.
We're Hiring Instructional Coaches! (2023)
Once is hiring Instructional Coaches to remotely coach school-based instructors tutoring early-elementary students in foundational reading skills.
We've Been Awarded a Call to Effective Action Grant from Accelerate
Once is a second-time grantee for Accelerate's Call to Effective Action, enabling us to conduct research trials demonstrating efficacy before scaling our impact.
Customer Visit — Hawaii
Visiting Kahuku Elementary School in Hawaii, where 15 instructors have been delivering Once to their students this year.
Understanding the Georgia Early Literacy Act
A webinar series on Georgia's recently passed HB 538, the Georgia Early Literacy Act — comprehensive bipartisan legislation mandating science-of-reading instruction.
Once Was Selected From Competitive Field to Attend NYC High Impact Tutoring Fair
Once has been selected from a competitive application process to attend the 2023-24 NYC High-Impact Tutoring Fair — open to 80 NYC public schools.
Download and share free classroom calendars
Our printable monthly school-week calendars have a new home — free for elementary teachers, available through July, with more coming for the next school year.
Once is featured on Transcend's Innovative Models Exchange!
Once is featured in the inaugural set of innovative designs on Transcend's Innovative Models Exchange — a library of learning models for school communities.
Printable Decodable Booklets
Free printable decodable booklets featuring our Dot Bot characters — aligned to the Once scope and sequence for students to read independently outside daily sessions.
How to Correct Word-Reading Errors
A free resource for instructors to correct student reading mistakes — a clear, efficient, prioritized correction protocol for phonetic words, with video example.
Once Curriculum Aligns to State Standards
Once's curriculum meets most literacy standards for kindergarten and first grade in all 50 states — with alignment documents published for multiple states already.
North Carolina Reading Association Recap
A recap of the 53rd North Carolina Reading Association Conference in Winston-Salem, NC, where Once connected with industry leaders and shared our early-reading work.
Once 2023 Winter Off-site Recap
Our first in-person company off-site in New Orleans, LA — three days together for our fully-remote team, anchored by our four core values.
Welcome Learning Partners
Once is pleased to partner with Learning Partners — bringing three decades of experience matching schools with high-quality educational solutions.
Spotlight Series: Arthur Unobskey, CEO, Riveting Results
An interview with Arthur Unobskey, CEO of Riveting Results, on how his team tackles ninth-grade reading gaps by starting every student at complex text — growing readers 3× the national norm.
Mid-Year Report: Impact of Once on K Reading Growth 22-23
Preliminary Research Report for Once Kindergarten Tutoring Fall 2022 from LXD Research, showing impact on kindergarten reading achievement in the first half of the school year.
Our Team Is Growing — Welcome Tarah Taylor
Once welcomes Tarah Taylor as Regional Director, bringing a decade of K-12 assessment partnership experience to drive our growth through the southeastern US.
Our Team Is Growing — Welcome Cindy Hollar
Once welcomes Cindy Hollar as Director of Sales — bringing leadership experience from IBM and TE21 alongside a lifelong passion for early literacy.
A Guide to the Phonemes
A comprehensive, freely-available resource on how to pronounce each phoneme — recordings of sounds associated with every letter and letter combination in English.
Free classroom calendar resource
Once shares free printable school-week, monthly classroom calendars for elementary school teachers — with space on each day to track learning progress.
2023 GSV Cup Elite 200
Once was selected as a semifinalist in the 2023 GSV Cup — the world's largest pitch competition for Pre-K to Gray edtech startups — from a field of 900 entrants.
National non-profit Accelerate selects Once to explore sustainable models for high-impact tutoring
Once is honored to be selected as a grantee for Accelerate's Call to Effective Action — a national effort to develop and scale sustainable, cost-effective high-impact tutoring.
Once added to the Alabama State Department of Education's vetted list of high-dosage tutoring services
Once joins the Alabama State Department of Education's vetted list of high-dosage tutoring services that maximize student success in standards attainment.