Beyond “Good Enough”
Spearville’s Commitment to Every Reader

Spearville, located just outside Dodge City in southwest Kansas, is a small rural community with a strong tradition of academic success.

But for the staff, administration, board, and community, strong results have never been a reason to settle for “good enough.” Instead, they continue to use data to identify needs, refine instruction, and ask an important question: How can we do even better for every student?
 

That mindset eventually led Spearville to Phillips Fundamental Learning Center and Alphabetic
Phonics.

Last spring, Carmon Younker joined several other elementary staff members in completing PFLC’s semester-long Alphabetic Phonics course. “We want to make sure that every student has the tools and instruction they need to be successful, regardless of how strong our overall district performance may be,” Younker says.

The district had identified a group of struggling readers who clearly needed more support than tiered intervention instruction alone could provide, yet did not necessarily require special education services. Staff began searching for a way to fill that gap. Alphabetic Phonics provided the specialized, structured intervention they were looking for.

“Our district leadership recognized that our teachers had identified a need for a more specialized approach to support our students,” Younker explains. “After researching the program and seeing the potential impact, they were willing to invest in the training because they knew it would give our teachers additional tools to meet the needs of our students.”

That investment has grown. Today, nine of the fifteen elementary teachers have been trained in Alphabetic Phonics. In addition to those classroom teachers, the Title 1 and Special Education teachers have also taken the training. Their high school principal even got in on the training this summer! 

“Our teachers are always looking for ways to grow and improve, and as a district, we don’t want to settle for just enough,” Younker says. “We want to continue learning and finding better ways to help our students succeed.”

 

With so many staff members now trained in AP, Spearville has taken the next step: restructuring its elementary intervention model around the program. Making room in the school day for the intensity and consistency Alphabetic Phonics requires is no small undertaking. It has meant rethinking schedules, priorities, and how intervention fits into the larger instructional day.

Elementary principal April Baugh believes that commitment will make a significant difference for the students who need it most. 

Daina Butler, district Superintendent, and the school board are more than supportive; they fully champion educators honing their craft and developing new methods to reach those students.
Although implementation is still in its early stages, beginning with summer intervention classes, staff members are already seeing encouraging results with the changes extending beyond academic growth.

“Students are beginning to feel more successful in their learning, and that confidence has not always been there before,” Younker says.

 

“Seeing both the academic growth and the change in how students view themselves as learners has been very encouraging.”

The training has also changed the way teachers think about struggling readers.

“We have a better understanding of how dyslexia can affect reading development and the specific skills students may be missing,” Younker says. “It has also helped us think differently about how we teach these students. Instead of asking why a student isn’t learning, we are asking what the student needs and how we can change our instruction to help them succeed.”

That shift may be one of the most powerful outcomes of Spearville’s work. Alphabetic Phonics is not simply another intervention added to the schedule; it is helping create a shared understanding of struggling readers and a shared responsibility for meeting their needs.

And Spearville isn’t finished.

“We are excited about what we have seen so far and want to continue growing the program so we can reach even more students,” Younker says.

For a district already accustomed to success, Spearville’s story is a reminder that excellence isn’t about reaching a point where the work is finished. It is about continuing to look closely at the students in front of you, identifying who still needs something different, and being willing to make meaningful changes to reach them.

We can’t wait to see what comes next for Spearville’s teachers and,most importantly, for the struggling readers they are determined to help succeed.