LIFT
Literacy Instruction for Tomorrow
Building Literacy Success Through Partnership
LIFT is a signature initiative designed to strengthen literacy instruction across our region. Grounded in Structured Literacy, the growing body of research of the Science of Reading, Explicit Instruction, and MTSS, LIFT supports schools and the leaders who guide them in building coherent, high-impact literacy systems that improve instruction and student outcomes.
Literacy is one of the most powerful levers for student success when it is thoughtfully designed, well-supported, and aligned with leadership. LIFT is a strategic, sustainable system spanning leadership, instruction, coaching, and data.
A year-long partnership for schools ready to build strong literacy and instructional practices that lead to successful student outcomes.
Who LIFT Serves
The SIEC LIFT Partnership is designed for PK-8 schools and districts, including:
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Building and district leaders committed to a unified literacy vision
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Literacy leadership teams and instructional coaches
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Classroom teachers, interventionists, and instructional assistants
LIFT intentionally brings leadership and staff together, recognizing that strong literacy instruction is only as effective as the systems and leadership structures that support it.
LIFT
Designed from Experience
Four Years of Partnership: The Indiana Literacy Cadre in Region 1
Our region is showing up every day for one belief: every child can read by third grade, and we'll keep going until they do. For the last four years, the Indiana Department of Education, the University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) has partnered with SIEC to bring the Science of Reading into classrooms across Region 1.
Our Literacy Cadre Training Support Specialists, Connie McDaniel, Marleigh Burris, and Sarah Kruse worked side-by-side with teachers and literacy leaders through coaching, modeling, and ongoing professional learning, helping instructional change take root and last. That partnership proved to be effective and sustainable, but the work isn’t over!
The results speak for themselves:
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91% average pass rate across our 42 member schools in 2025 — well above the state's 75% benchmark
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+4.45% regional growth in pass rate over the past year
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50% of member schools engaged in Cadre support with CELL
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Statewide, Cadre schools saw a 7-point gain in third-grade reading proficiency — nearly double the growth of non-Cadre schools
What's next: We're building on this momentum by deepening our partnership — offering more individualized support tailored to each school's needs, and expanding our focus from K–3 to a full PK–8 continuum of literacy support.
