Ozark Invests in Teachers to Build Confident Readers

On Nov. 4, Ozark kindergarten teachers became the students as literacy consultant, author and curriculum designer Jennifer Burns led a live classroom lesson. Burns taught a group of kindergarten students while teachers observed, took notes and gathered ideas.

“Our TK (transitional kindergarten) and kindergarten teachers engaged in powerful learning with guest literacy expert Jennifer Burns,” said Dr. Keisha Wurgler, instructional coach at North Elementary. “She modeled a playful and purposeful shared reading lesson that helps young learners discover how letters and words work — building confident, joyful readers.”

With 30 years of experience in education, Burns led a hands-on lesson with kindergarten students — demonstrating effective teaching strategies rather than simply describing them. Students were highly engaged, eagerly raising their hands to answer questions, while Ozark’s kindergarten teachers observed with enthusiasm, ready to bring these strategies back to their own classrooms.

“If you care about meeting each student where they are, if you love those ‘aha’ moments during independent work, or if you just want to feel more confident about your reading block — you’re in the right place,” Burns’ website, buildingareader.com, says. 

To ensure teachers could fully participate in the training, district office administrators stepped in as substitutes in the kindergarten classrooms. This professional development opportunity is just one example of how Ozark continues to invest in its educators and ensure both students and teachers receive the support they need to succeed.

Ozark’s literacy coaches said the training will help teachers gain greater clarity around intentional teaching and effective transfer of skills to students; immediate application of newly-learned strategies by teachers; noticeable improvement in students’ letter recognition; increased attention to detail in writing — building a strong foundation that replaces guessing with understanding.