~20,000
students
District case study · Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Kindergarteners’ reading proficiency rose from 24% to 66%
Tangipahoa Parish School System trained existing paraprofessionals to deliver 15 minutes of one-to-one Once instruction each day. After one school year, the district reported a 42-percentage-point gain in kindergarten DIBELS proficiency.
2025–26 kindergarten DIBELS
+42points
From 24% proficient at the beginning of the year to 66% at the end.
District-reported beginning- and end-of-year proficiency data
District at a glance
Tangipahoa Parish School System
A large, diverse rural district serving communities in southeast Louisiana
32
schools
Southeast Louisiana
about an hour from New Orleans and Baton Rouge
76%
district-reported student poverty rate
The challenge
The district had strong materials. Too many students were still not learning to read.
Tangipahoa had adopted a Tier 1 curriculum, added computer-based intervention, trained teachers in the Science of Reading, and invested in professional development. Yet district leaders still saw persistently low reading proficiency.
Their conclusion was direct: children needed a real person beside them. The district began looking for a way to add consistent, one-to-one instruction early—before reading gaps widened by third grade.
“We felt like we needed to add a human component where there’s an actual adult working with a student.”
The first-year result
A 42-point rise in kindergarten reading proficiency
Superintendent Stilley reported that 24% of kindergarten students were proficient on beginning-of-year DIBELS testing. By the end of the 2025–26 school year, 66% were proficient.
Daily 15-minute lessonsOne-to-one instructionDistrictwide kindergarten rollout
DIBELS proficiency
Kindergarten · 2025–26
Beginning of year24%
End of year66%
Source: Tangipahoa Parish School System data as reported by Superintendent Melissa Stilley during an August 31, 2026 interview with Once.
“The teachers, the Once instructors, the principals were just pleasantly surprised at the results of just one year with Once—which is why we decided to extend that into the first grade.”
Why kindergarten—not third grade
Early intervention prevents a reading gap from becoming an everything gap
Tangipahoa’s goal is to build proficiency before widening gaps limit what children can learn in every class that follows, rather than wait until students struggle on a third-grade milestone.
The longer a district waits, the harder the work becomes
Stilley’s case is practical: intervention for older students often requires more time and costs more than focused support in kindergarten and first grade.
Reading determines access to the rest of school
Students need to read grade-level material to participate fully in science, social studies, math, career training, and credential exams—not only language arts.
Early proficiency changes what later grades can do
As stronger-reading cohorts move through the system, the district can shift its attention from filling foundational gaps toward grade-level instruction and enrichment.
“Either as a parish, we pay now, or we pay later—and it’s going to cost a lot more later, because providing interventions for older students costs more.”
“When kids can read on level or higher, they can do all of the subjects. They can do science, social studies, and math.”
The approach
Equip paraprofessionals to deliver one-to-one reading instruction districtwide
Tangipahoa reviewed the roles of 362 paraprofessionals, identified staff who could support kindergarten literacy, and worked through funding, board support, school scheduling, training, and coaching in roughly six months.
Start with the people already in the district
District leaders mapped paraprofessional roles across every school, then identified staff who could shift into focused kindergarten literacy support.
Train and elevate Once instructors
Selected paraprofessionals completed Once training, received ongoing coaching, and earned additional pay for their specialized instructional role.
Build 15 minutes into every school day
Students received short, one-to-one lessons that moved from letter sounds to decoding words, reading sentences, and bringing books home.
“You have training, you have on-the-job coaching on how to get better, and follow-up and accountability. How could it go wrong?”
“I thought this only could be done by a teacher. Now I’ve learned that it can be done by other people who love children and care about children and really want to make a difference in their lives. That’s all you need to know—and then we can teach you the rest.”
Beyond the scores
Confident readers—and a new pathway into teaching
Students began seeing themselves read: first sounds, then words, then sentences and books they could take home. Teachers saw that progress earlier in the year.
The change extended to adults, too. Once instructors gained specialized training, ongoing coaching, and ownership of work that directly changed children’s lives. Some began pursuing teaching degrees through the district’s university partnership.
Students read sooner
Stilley saw kindergarteners reading words and sentences, bringing books home, and taking pride in their progress.
Instructors saw a future
The role became an unexpected teacher pipeline for both experienced paraprofessionals and younger district hires.
“This has become, unexpectedly, a pipeline for teachers—which, as we all know, is a shortage in America.”
What comes next
From kindergarten success to a K–1 districtwide model
For the 2026–27 school year, Tangipahoa continued Once in kindergarten and expanded the program across first grade. Principals who had seen the model work began asking how they could bring it to more students and grades.
“Every year you’re going to have kids reading proficiently—eventually the whole class. It’ll change the dynamics of our school system, because instead of talking about how we’re going to fill the gaps in the upper grades, the gaps will already be filled.”
“Literacy is where it starts. Kids reading on level is where it starts… It’s generational change.”
Bring one-to-one reading instruction to your district
Talk with Once about your district’s early literacy goals
Tell us what your district is working toward and where students need support. Our team will follow up with you.