One Utah school is being held up as an example for dramatically moving the needle with its students' reading scores: Mona Elementary in the small, rural town by the same name. Here's what they did.
“That type of achievement and growth doesn’t happen by chance,” said Rich Nye, senior education advisor for Cox.State leaders are pushing this legislative session to see a big J-U-M-P in students’ test scores after a dire new report noted thatThat leaves Utah far off the mark of hitting the 70% reading goal it had set to reach by 2027.
Gov. Spencer Cox is suggesting, to help accomplish that, having schools hold back students a year if they’re not achieving. But already, there are a few Utah schools who are having success without that step — which some in the education community worry is extreme. At least four charter schools and one district — North Summit — had reached the 70% mark for reading by 2023. And another school, which joined the list in 2025, is now being held up as an example for dramatically moving the needle through other efforts. Last year, the school saw a 20 percentage point increase in third grade students reading on grade level, to now 70% in total hitting the mark.The governor’s office highlighted the school during a literacy conference it held earlier this month. The principal of Mona Elementary, Brandi Webster, along with two teachers at the school, Jennifer Schaugaard and Megan Montoya, spoke on a panel about their efforts. Part of it was But it really started, Webster said, when she first took on the role of principal and noticed the school’s reading scores had been stagnant for about a decade, stuck at about 50% of students hitting the mark for their grade level — the same as the state average. “Teachers were working so hard,” she said. “And I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I couldn’t figure out what else they could do.” Mona Elementary is small, with about 180 students in kindergarten through fifth grade; and there are two teachers per grade. Webster said those teachers had already been coming in early and staying late to help students with tutoring. That’s when she decided to dig further into the data on a student-by-student level, Webster said. And she realized each student needed individualized plans that accommodate their specific needs. The school worked to create student profiles for every kid in the school to track their progress throughout the year — not just at the end with final exams. They set check-in points throughout the year, as well as individual progress monitoring every Friday where the teacher would sit down with each student one-on-one while an instructional assistant watched over the class.“It’s knowing the individual student,” Montoya added, and building a relationship there.Each class spends at least 30 minutes a day working on reading , and there’s movement between grade levels, too. For instance, if a third grader is reading on a first grade level, that student can be sent to a first grade classroom to get more tailored teaching that is specific to their needs. Webster also said that the school decided to make it a community effort — with every employee involved, as well as parents. It couldn’t solely be on teachers, she said. The school engaged bus drivers, lunch workers and paraprofessionals to all help in different ways. Mona Elementary held a meeting, too, that almost every parent in the community attended to talk about what could be done at home to help students read better. The school even made videos for parents to help instruct them on best practices — beyond just reading more books to their kids.She said now the school doesn’t feel that 70% is good enough. They are pushing to have 100% of students reading on grade level.Webster acknowledged that it’s helpful to have the small class sizes they do in Mona, which makes a huge difference. The classrooms there have about 15 kids.Salt Lake City School District , said that’s a concern for her as others try to replicate that success — and might not find it as easy.During his conference, Cox said he also saw that as a problem. And he emphasized that he doesn’t see the reading levels as “a failure of our teachers.” First lady Abby Cox, left, and Gov. Spencer Cox speak with children following a news conference on the 2027 fiscal budget at Kearns Library in Kearns on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Montoya at Mona Elementary said without resources, more demands from the state won’t amount to changes in reading levels. It took her school leadership setting aside the money and time, she said, to make the changes there. “You can give us the policy all you want,” she said, “but if you’re not giving us the help to get there, it’s not going anywhere.”Utah leaders want to hold back third graders who aren’t on reading level. Here’s what you need to know.Utah bans three more books from public schools — including the source for a blockbuster movie ‘Urgent need’: Nearly half of Utah’s kindergarten through third grade kids can’t read at grade level, report findsSalt Lake City’s newest meal prep service brings personal chef quality & convenience to your home
Utah Third Graders Utah Third Grade Reading Cox Reading Holding Third Graders Back Holding Utah Third Graders Back Utah Reading Levels Utah Students Reading Mona Elementary
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
One year, one chart and an eye-popping jump in Ilhan Omar’s personal wealthFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
Inside Utah's Code Blue warming centers: How Unsheltered Utah saves lives in freezing temperaturesCLICK HERE to reach out to Tina with any story ideas or news tips.
Read more »
Utah lawmakers tell K-12 schools to prepare for budget cutsUtah lawmakers are telling K-12 schools to prepare for funding cuts from the state.The Washington County School District stated that they’re bracing for a 5% bu
Read more »
Utah legislators weigh in on Minneapolis shooting during legislative sessionDuring the legislative session, several Utah lawmakers addressed the fatal shooting of a protester at a Minneapolis demonstration involving ICE agents.The shoot
Read more »
Cox calls for prayer again as Utah's snowpack nears record lowCarter Williams is a reporter for KSL. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.
Read more »
EXCLUSIVE: Miu Miu Women’s Tales Latest Director Is Mona FastvoldMiu Miu Women's Tales latest director is Mona Fastvold and her new short film, titled “Discipline,” will premiere in New York on Feb. 12.
Read more »