Lavinia Group, by K12 Coalition, is proud to partner with the Summer Discovery program to bring the proven Lavinia RISE Program to students and educators across Washington—at no cost to participating sites. This comprehensive program includes a science of reading and standards-aligned curriculum, ready-to-use student materials, pre-program training, and caregiver communication, all designed to help every student stay engaged, make measurable progress, and thrive over the summer.
SUMMER 2024 PROGRAM RESULTS
For the past two summers, the Summer Discovery program in Southeast Michigan has partnered with Lavinia Group to deliver the RISE Program with outstanding results.
In Summer 2024, participating sites saw a 2.8× increase in the number of students scoring proficient in math and a 3.4× increase in the number of students scoring proficient in ELA — demonstrating that high-quality curriculum, educator training, and implementation support drive measurable student growth.
Building on this success, the Summer Discovery Washington program will bring these same evidence-based practices and supports to communities across the state.
The percentage of students who tested ‘proficient’ in Math increased by 21 points, a 2x increase from the pre-assessments.
Key Takeaways
19
percentage point increase in students scoring ‘proficient’
29
percentage point decrease in students scoring ‘below basic’ and ‘approaching’
Proficiency Growth: The percentage point change between the percent of participating students who are proficient on the pre-assessment and the percent of students who are proficient on the post-assessment.
Key Takeaways
18
percentage point increase in students scoring ‘proficient’
26
percentage point decrease in students scoring ‘below basic’ and ‘approaching’
Proficiency Growth: The percentage point change between the percent of participating students who are proficient on the pre-assessment and the percent of students who are proficient on the post-assessment.
RISE Summer Learning Program Overview
What RISE Includes:
5 Weeks of Standards-Aligned Curriculum
Caregiver Communication
Pre- and Post-Assessments
Progress Monitoring Trackers
On-Demand Training Modules
Live Weekly Office Hours
Teaching Channel Subscription
Professional Development
The program—including curriculum, professional development, and assessments—is provided at no cost; however, grantees should budget for the accompanying student materials. Click the button below to view the materials list!
Rise ELA Curriculum
We provide 90 minutes of engaging, science-of-reading–aligned literacy instruction, structured into two components based on students’ grade levels. Students in Rising 1st–2nd Grade participate in RedThread Foundations, a systematic phonics program, and an Author Study block. Students in Rising 3rd–9th Grade engage in Close Reading for Meaning and a RedThread Knowledge, Author Study, block.
The systematic phonics curriculum, grounded in the science of reading, places a strong emphasis on phonics, ensuring a solid foundation for reading and language development. Lessons are explicit, cumulative, and sequential—building knowledge step by step—while incorporating multisensory activities that engage students through visual aids and manipulatives. To reinforce learning in context, students read paired decodable texts with carefully controlled vocabulary and phonics patterns. These RedThread Readers, designed for summer, offer rich, engaging stories that both captivate young readers and strengthen their decoding skills.
Curious to see how our decodable readers can help your students shine?
Download a sample of our systematic phonics curriculum
The RedThread RISE Close Reading Curriculum develops both foundational and comprehension skills through a structured five-day reading cycle. Students begin by focusing on foundational reading skills such as morphological awareness, decoding, and fluency, before using genre as an entry point to analyze a text’s main idea and the author’s craft. Throughout the cycle, genre-based, transferable questions prompt students to return to the text for evidence, sharpening critical thinking and building confidence in tackling complex texts. After engaging in this process with the teacher, students apply their learning independently to a paired passage, demonstrating their growing proficiency.
Curious to see how our decodable readers can help your students shine?
Download a sample of our systematic phonics curriculum
Building on foundational reading skills, the RedThread RISE Knowledge curriculum, formerly known as Insight Humanities, teaches students to become thoughtful, engaged readers. By focusing on a single author or immersing in a full novel, students deepen comprehension, expand vocabulary, and develop a genuine love of reading. Each workshop features carefully curated texts that reflect diverse backgrounds and authentic experiences, ensuring representation while avoiding bias and stereotypes. The curriculum strategically connects Close Reading topics to Author and Novel Studies, helping students build knowledge networks that strengthen understanding of themes and ideas. Daily text-based writing tasks further reinforce comprehension and analytical skills, giving students meaningful opportunities to express their thinking with grade-appropriate vocabulary and language.
Curious to see how our decodable readers can help your students shine?
Download a sample of our systematic phonics curriculum
Rise math Curriculum
We provide 75 minutes of real-life discourse-driven mathematical curriculum broken into two components for all grade-levels: Story Problems and Math Routines.
Grounded in the belief that all students are mathematicians, the RedThread Math Story Problems curriculum engages learners through real-world contexts—such as shopping, sports, or travel—encouraging them to see the relevance of math in everyday life. With a wide variety of grade-level problem types, students develop multiple strategies for solving unknowns, applying flexible thinking while participating in hands-on learning and rich mathematical discourse. By persevering through challenges and sharing their reasoning, students deepen understanding, build confidence, and strengthen precision, equipping them to tackle any mathematical task independently while mastering grade-level standards.
Created specifically for RISE, these short, structured math routines target common gaps in student knowledge while strengthening foundational skills and concepts such as counting, operations, place value, and proportional relationships. Designed for daily use, the routines build both conceptual understanding and fluency, helping students develop speed, accuracy, and confidence with essential math operations. With five consistent routine structures used across grades and content, teachers can easily integrate these targeted activities into instruction, ensuring students are well-prepared for success in the next grade.
Curriculum FAQ's
What standards are addressed in the curriculum?
RISE aligns to the Common Core State Standards and recognizes that states may present standards differently, even when addressing similar concepts. Using “crosswalks,” the program translates Common Core–aligned content to each state’s specific requirements. RISE prioritizes power standards, the most critical grade-level skills and concepts, and intentionally targets standards from the previous grade to bridge learning gaps. For example, students entering 5th grade engage with 4th-grade standards to reinforce foundational skills before tackling new content in the fall. This approach helps students build deeper mastery within the limited summer timeframe.[Click here to download the Common Core standards alignment for ELA and Math]
What comes with the curriculum?
The RISE curriculum includes 5 weeks (20 instructional days) of lessons with teacher guides for all math and literacy components, along with student lesson materials. Additional implementation resources are included as well, such as progress monitoring trackers, leader-facing observation tools, weekly caregiver communications for math and ELA, and more.
In what format will our site receive the curriculum materials?
All curriculum materials are accessible digitally through the RISE Summer Portal. Sites may choose to use them digitally or print as needed. Beginning in Summer 2026, a new procurement process will allow grantees to print and ship required curriculum materials directly to their sites.
What does my site need to procure outside of what’s provided by RISE?
All required classroom materials and texts are outlined in the provided materials list. Partners are responsible for procuring these items from a vendor of their choice. This includes items such as math manipulatives, white-boards, markers, etc. For returning applicants: In 2026, ELA texts for Rising Grades 3, 4, and 5 have been updated in response to feedback. Please plan accordingly in your budget if you intended to reuse last year’s materials. All other 2025 ELA texts (including the Rising 1st-2nd decodables) and math materials remain unchanged and can be reused.
Do my students and teachers need technology devices to participate in the program?
No. Technology is not required for students to participate successfully in the RISE program. However, teachers will need access to the RISE Summer Portal, which houses all curriculum materials, progress monitoring tools, professional development links, and other program resources. Sites may choose to administer pre- and post-assessments either digitally or on paper, but all student assessment data must be entered into the digital assessment platform.
How does the curriculum support ELL learners?
The RISE curriculum is intentionally designed to help MLLs build knowledge and skills through content that emphasizes morphology, fluency, and opportunities for rich discourse; benefitting all learners. In addition, every lesson includes specific supports for MLLs across three key domains: reading, writing, and speaking/listening.
How does the curriculum support SPED learners?
The RISE curriculum is intentionally designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) pedagogy embedded throughout every unit to ensure equitable access for all students, including those with disabilities. The curriculum itself is research-based in what content is covered, while UDL principles shape how that content is taught, through multiple means of engagement (diverse texts, project work, discourse), representation (read-alouds, graphic organizers, charts), and expression (student choice in projects and varied ways to show learning). To further support teachers, every lesson includes lesson-specific differentiation suggestions, and additional resources like the Differentiation Toolkit provide practical strategies for reteaching, small-group support, and adjusting instruction to meet individual student needs.
3 Ways to Engage with RISE Professional Development
If you are using the Lavinia RISE curriculum, teachers are expected to attend 3 days of pre-program training and encouraged to attend weekly office hours. This is estimated at 18 hours of PD for one subject and 24 hours of PD for two subjects. For school administrators, this is estimated at 3 hours of PD. You should plan to pay teachers for this time, so please factor this into your budget.
Pre-Program Leader Training
Before Teacher Training Week, leaders will take part in two focused sessions to prepare for a successful summer launch. The first introduces the Lavinia RISE program, with strategies for supporting educators and managing high-quality instruction. The second centers on assessment training with LinkIt—covering rostering, administration, and platform functionality. Together, these sessions equip leaders with the tools and resources needed to strengthen educator practice and drive impactful summer learning.
Pre-Program Teacher Training
Lavinia Group will lead virtual, live training sessions to help Summer Discovery educators internalize the curriculum and feel fully prepared for launch. These interactive sessions feature model lessons, guided planning, and strategies for incorporating engaging, differentiated instruction to meet diverse student needs. Teachers will also receive LinkIt assessment training, covering test administration, scoring, and platform functionality, to build confidence in using data to inform instruction. Throughout the experience, educators will collaborate with peers, engage in rich discussions, and apply their learning in a supportive, practice-driven environment.
Weekly Professional Development
Throughout the summer, educators will have access to weekly virtual office hours, hosted by a Lavinia Group coach, to answer questions and provide real-time support with intellectual preparation, data analysis, differentiation, and program implementation. In addition, teachers will have access to a library of asynchronous resources they can use at any time to deepen their practice and address emerging classroom needs.
Add-On Coaching Services
On-site coaching provides customized professional development for your site.
How does it work?
A dedicated coach from Lavinia Group will work with your site to create a coaching agenda that aligns with your summer learning goals and priorities.
The coach will also help you implement accelerated learning strategies for math and ELA, specifically designed to target unfinished learning from the previous year and close critical achievement gaps.
Coaching services will include:
- Three half-day, on-site visits
- Email and phone access to the coach for ongoing support.
What Will My Coach Do?
While on-site, coaches will:
- Model lessons to demonstrate best practices and effective teaching strategies for the RISE curriculum
- Provide individualized feedback and guidance to teachers
- Conduct classroom observations
- Assist in analyzing student data
- Help teachers differentiate lesson plans based on student data.
Does Coaching Really Make a Difference?
Yes! Last summer, we provided on-site coaching to 21 sites across the Summer Discovery Michigan Program. The sites that received on-site coaching support achieved higher score growth in both ELA and math than those that did not.
- Math: The sites with on-site Lavinia Group coaching achieved 27% proficiency growth, compared to 19% at sites without coaching.
- ELA: The sites with on-site Lavinia Group coaching achieved 20% proficiency growth, outperforming the 17% growth at sites without coaching.
The RISE Process
Click on each stage below to learn more
- Apply and Join RISE
- Prepare for a Successful Summer
- Train with Experts
- Receive Ongoing Support
- Achieve Outstanding Results
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Apply and Join RISE
Submit your Summer Discovery application by the deadline and secure your spot in the Lavinia Group Program. -
Prepare for a Successful SummerAfter receiving your award, complete onboarding by ordering materials, attending informational sessions, and exploring the Summer School platform, packed with resources to design your program and confidently welcome students on day one.
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Train with ExpertsParticipate in in-person training to ensure your educators feel confident and prepared to deliver the summer curriculum effectively.
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Receive Ongoing SupportAccess continuous guidance throughout the summer through virtual office hours, or invite an on-site coach to provide hands-on modeling and teaching support directly at your campus.
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Achieve Outstanding ResultsBy the end of summer, your students will demonstrate meaningful growth, equipped to carry their learning confidently into the school year.
2024 RISE At a Glance
Organizations
Testimonial
“Every professional on the Lavinia team is exceptionally knowledgeable, thinks through the lens of student achievement, and acts as a true thought partner. The team is flexible to the dynamics and shifting needs of a small charter network and demonstrates through action that we are a priority to them despite our small size. Lavinia Group is a go-to strategic partner for our organization.”