Georgia Builds Statewide Literacy Professional Learning Program as Demand Grows for Scaled Coaching Support

With the Georgia Literacy Academy in place, leaders across the state are calling for job-embedded coaching to extend evidence-based literacy practices and accelerate reading outcomes statewide.

ATLANTA, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia has established the literacy training infrastructure required by the Georgia Early Literacy Act, positioning the state as a national leader in evidence-based literacy reform and joining Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana and Tennessee with a statewide structure designed to improve reading outcomes for children.

HB1193 has outlined the next step: scaling job-embedded literacy coaching. State leaders, district superintendents, and educators are calling for alignment between the training and credentials of the coaches with the already established Georgia Literacy Academy (GLA). GLA provides evidence-based professional learning for K-5^th Grade teachers on the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills that enable students to develop reading skills required to meet state standards in literacy.

Georgia has already seen that when science of reading-aligned teacher professional learning is paired with job-embedded coaching, student outcomes improve rapidly. This integrated model — initiated through a partnership between the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy and Marietta City Schools and later scaled through the Georgia Department of Education — has been recognized by state leadership for delivering double-digit reading gains in one year across 60 of Georgia's lowest-performing elementary schools.

The Georgia Literacy Academy, established by the Georgia Department of Education, is powered by the International Dyslexia Association-accredited Cox Campus of the Rollins Center at the Atlanta Speech School. Together, this public-private partnership represents a national model for teacher professional learning, delivering high-quality, evidence-based literacy training at no cost to the state, districts, schools or teachers.

By the numbers:

• More than 47,000 Georgia educators from 167 districts have completed, or are completing, structured literacy coursework on GLA
• Educators have logged nearly 1 million professional learning hours on GLA
• Georgia has benefited from $54 million in fair market value of professional learning through GLA since fall 2023 at no cost to districts, schools or teachers
• 94% of educators complete courses on GLA, more than three times the national average for online learning

"In Marietta, our literacy priority is simple and unwavering: follow the science and ensure every teacher has the training, time, and support to help every child reach their fullest reading and writing potential. In partnership with the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy, we built an embedded coaching model that lives in every classroom—strengthening instruction and driving measurable gains for students. We're proud to continue developing Marietta as a learning lab for this work, with the Cox Campus serving as a shared resource where districts across Georgia can access the tools, expertise, and practical learning needed to implement evidence-based literacy practices."
— Dr. Grant Rivera, Superintendent, Marietta City Schools

District leaders across the state report similar results.

"Muscogee County Public Schools has partnered with the Rollins Center since 2023 with a shared goal of transforming literacy outcomes for our students. Knowledge building through Cox Campus, integrated with the Rollins Center's coaching model, is strengthening classroom instruction and professional practice through our intentional three-year cohort implementation plan that will conclude this year. This work has directly supported our implementation of structured literacy during the three-year period and has been the central focus of instructional improvement at Brewer Early Innovation Academy, where students realized nearly two years of academic growth in literacy within a single school year. As Georgia expands its investment in literacy, we hope state-funded literacy coaches will be allowed to continue on this same path, so every district—and every child—has access to the same high-quality support and opportunity for success."
- Dr. David Lewis, MCPS Superintendent 

The Georgia Literacy Plan calls for preparing every educator with the knowledge and skills to teach all students to read. That foundation is firmly in place.

Teachers across the state now share a common literacy language grounded in the science of reading through GLA. Training literacy coaches through the same platform would create greater instructional coherence, improve systemwide alignment, and accelerate classroom impact.

With the professional learning infrastructure already in place and results already demonstrated, Georgia is uniquely positioned to strengthen early literacy instruction, improve reading proficiency, and maximize taxpayer value without duplicating costs.

About Cox Campus

Cox Campus, a program of the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School, provides free access to science of reading-aligned, IDA-accredited, and research-based literacy professional learning for teachers, instructional coaches, leaders, families, and caregivers. Cox Campus supports literacy development across the continuum from prenatal language nutrition through reading and writing instruction, helping ensure every child has access to strong language and literacy foundations. Founded in 2004 and 2014, respectively, the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus are leveraging more than $100 million in philanthropic investment, with a return on investment exceeding $200 million in coursework alone.

Media Contact:
Andario Howard
Rollins Center for Language & Literacy
[email protected] | (404) 333-6069

SOURCE The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy