Lavinia Group, by K12 Coalition, is proud to partner with the Summer Discovery program for the third year to bring the proven Summer RISE Program to students and educators across Southeast Michigan—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 2025 PROGRAM RESULTS
In Summer of 2025, sites that partnered with Lavinia Group saw a 2.4x increase in the number of students scoring proficient on the math assessment and a 3.1x increase in the number of students scoring proficient on the ELA assessment.
The percentage of students who tested ‘proficient’ in Math increased by 21 points, a 2x increase from the pre-assessments.
Key Takeaways
17
percentage point increase in students scoring ‘proficient’
27
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
21
percentage point increase in students scoring ‘proficient’
28
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 in two components. Students in Rising 1st–2nd grade participate in a Systematic Phonics (RedThread RISE Foundations) and Author Study block (RedThread RISE Knowledge), while students in Rising 3rd–9th grade engage in Close Reading for Meaning and a Novel Study (RedThread RISE Knowledge) 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 recognizes that states present standards differently, even when addressing similar concepts. Using “crosswalks,” the program translates Common Core–aligned content to each state’s requirements. RISE prioritizes power standards, the most critical grade-level skills and concepts, and 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 focus 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. A complete materials list—covering all required classroom materials and texts—is also provided, which partners may source from a vendor of their choice. 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 school 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.
Do my students and teachers need technology devices to participate in the program?
No. Technology is not required for students to successfully participate in the RISE program. However, for teachers, all curriculum materials, progress monitoring tools, and other helpful programming resources are housed on the RISE Summer Portal, where teachers also access professional development links. Additionally, sites may choose to administer pre- and post-assessments digitally or on paper. Regardless of assessment administration modality, 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 60-minute weekly development meetings. 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
Leaders will participate in a training session prior to Teacher Training Week (estimated at approximately three hours), where they will receive a comprehensive overview of the Lavinia RISE program. This session will highlight strategies for supporting educators in delivering a high-impact summer program and best practices for managing summer instruction. Leaders will also gain access to tools and resources designed to help them strengthen educator practices quickly and effectively.
Pre-Program Teacher Training
Weekly Professional Development
Once the summer begins, educators will also have access to ongoing weekly development opportunities and office hours facilitated by a Lavinia Group coach. These sessions are designed to provide support with intellectual preparation, data analysis, differentiation, and general program questions. Educators will be able to engage in these opportunities live through Zoom or access resources asynchronously, with final details to be confirmed.
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 school leaders 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 alongside school leaders
- 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 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.
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.”