Clayton County Public Schools

Located just south of Atlanta, Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) is Georgia’s sixth-largest district, serving more than 52,000 students. With 98.5% minority enrollment, 62.5% economically disadvantaged students, and more than 72 languages spoken, CCPS must support extraordinary diversity and overcome significant challenges in literacy achievement.

Many students enter the district’s schools without access to quality early childhood education. A growing number are English learners, and some face additional barriers such as housing instability or limited family literacy support at home.

Post-pandemic, these challenges only intensified, revealing growing disparities in foundational reading development across K–5 classrooms. Recognizing the urgent need to support every learner, district leaders prioritized systemic change rooted in equity and the Science of Reading.

Even before Georgia’s recent Early Literacy Act called for universal reading screening, CCPS was already prioritizing literacy as a key districtwide initiative. District leaders like Ebony Brown, Coordinator of Elementary ELA, were committed to evidence-based practices grounded in the Science of Reading. But to actually achieve student reading growth, CCPS needed a solution that could make it easier for teachers to support every student.

At Tara Elementary, a CCPS PreK–5 school in Morrow, Georgia, Amira is a key part of the school’s strategy to meet students’ wide-ranging literacy and language needs. 

Tara’s students use Amira Assess for universal reading and dyslexia screening, with real-time data that connects directly to the district’s reading curriculum. Teachers can immediately apply assessment insights to their individual, small-group, or whole-group instruction.

Tara students also use Amira Tutor for one-on-one reading practice. Amira listens to each student as they read aloud, delivering in-the-moment interventions as needed and adjusting practice to the student’s level. 

Tara students work with Amira Tutor an average of 21,626 minutes per week. This equates to almost 13,000 hours annually of 1:1 reading tutoring that Tara Elementary is providing their students.

From early readers still mastering letter sounds to upper-grade students preparing for middle school, Amira is helping teachers at Tara Elementary reach every reader—and helping students see themselves as readers, too.

Tara Elementary students who practice with Amira at least four times per week and for at least six weeks (the research-recommended dosage) demonstrate 18.7 weeks of growth in just 15.7 weeks of instruction. 

Tara Elementary is just one example of what’s possible when teachers are equipped with the right tools to support every reader. Across Clayton County Public Schools, Amira is now a core part of a broader commitment to literacy, and the results speak for themselves.

Since implementing Amira, CCPS has seen measurable reading gains and meaningful shifts in both student and teacher confidence districtwide. What began as a pilot is now a cornerstone of CCPS’ literacy strategy.

Teachers credit Amira with helping them differentiate more effectively and build student motivation. Chelby Slappy, first grade teacher, describes Amira as “a personal coach and cheerleader,” offering encouragement and personalized practice to her students. Fifth grade teacher Seygona Davis uses Amira to boost fluency and vocabulary, especially among her English learners. 

With teachers using Amira data to guide instruction and students gaining ownership of their reading journeys, the entire district is realizing meaningful, measurable growth, both in and beyond the classroom.