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This article is part of Bright Spots, a series聽highlighting schools where every child learns to read, no matter their zip code. Explore the Bright Spots map to find out which schools are beating the odds in terms of literacy versus poverty rates.

Last year, Indian River County tied for the highest scores in third grade reading across all Florida districts. It came in seventh for English language arts learning gains and tied for the top spot for growth rates for its lowest-performing students.

Even more impressively, low-income third graders at Indian River schools scored better than the statewide average for all students. And, perhaps not surprisingly, when we went looking for high-poverty schools that were nevertheless getting good outcomes in reading, we identified three of the district’s schools 鈥� Rosewood Magnet, Fellsmere Elementary and Pelican Island Elementary 鈥� for our 鈥�Bright Spots鈥� list. Fellsmere in particular stood out: Based on its 99% poverty rate, our calculations predicted that it would have a third grade reading rate of just 29%. But its actual rate was much higher, at 53%.

Indian River County was never exactly a failing district, but a decade ago it was performing a bit worse than the state as a whole. It has since begun to pull away, especially in third grade. Coming out of the pandemic, 60% of district third graders scored proficient in reading in 2023. That figure rose to 63% in 2024 and then jumped again, to 69%, in 2025.

The district鈥檚 gains are also widespread. Last year, 100% of Indian River County’s elementary schools earned an A or B rating, with no Cs, Ds or F. In comparison, nearly 1 in 3 elementary schools earned a C or below statewide. As a whole, the district has now earned an A grade from the state for three consecutive years.

So how is Indian River County getting these results?

A 10-part video series produced by the tells what happened. It makes a compelling case that these results are attributable to a distinctive public-private partnership between the district and a nonprofit called The Learning Alliance. The story starts with two moms, Liz Woody-Remington and Barbara Hammond, whose children were struggling to read. In 2010, they asked themselves: What would it take to get 90% of the district’s children reading on grade level by the end of third grade?

In 2012, then-Superintendent Fran Adams bought into the goal and had the district鈥檚 school board officially it. And the moms’ informal advocacy work has morphed into , a nonprofit with $5.8 million in last year. Today, that money provides funding for 25 literacy coaches, free afterschool and summer and a to help parents prepare their children for kindergarten.

The district鈥檚 literacy work is grounded in what鈥檚 known as . Originally by researchers Philip Gough and William Tunmer, this theory suggests that, to read well, children must know how to decode letters into sounds and have enough background knowledge to recognize what those words mean. The district’s afterschool program, for example, employs this method. Funded by The Learning Alliance, it gives students who need extra help with literacy explicit instruction on the letters or sounds they鈥檙e learning during the school day. It also uses stories, art and music as a way to build vocabulary and connect and engage the students.

During the school day, teachers take a similar approach using the curriculum from Amplify. They also receive extensive coaching and regular feedback on their classroom practice. In the videos, district leaders, principals and the local union leader all spoke about the value of that coaching. Mar鈥檚ha Roberts, a teacher at Vero Beach Elementary, noted that, 鈥淏eing under such high expectations, it was a little rough at first. But they helped me to see what I was good at and gave me great feedback, and that really built my confidence.鈥�

The district鈥檚 reading scores really seemed to take off after David Moore was hired as superintendent in 2019. In 2024, he was named the Florida Superintendent of the Year, and he plays a prominent role in the video series, speaking eloquently about the importance of providing teachers with coaching and support and relentlessly using data to drive instruction.

But perhaps most relevant here, Moore understood the importance of the early grades as a  long-term investment. He saw the need to make sure young students never get behind and bemoans the fact that, because state accountability systems typically start with third grade, principals tend to assign their best teachers to those . When principals neglect the earlier grades in this way, Moore cautions, 鈥測ou鈥檙e playing catch-up the entire experience of that child.鈥�

Despite the recent gains mentioned above, Indian River County has not yet reached its ultimate goal of having 90% of students reading proficiently by third grade. That is an ambitious target, but Hammond says she believes in the importance of having that shared goal across the community. Toward the end of the video series, she notes that, 鈥淪uperintendents come and go. School boards come and go. Without the community understanding this and holding the goal, the reform won鈥檛 last.鈥� 

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