"The support we've had from Summit K-12 is nothing like I've experienced in my years of teaching. I always feel like I have someone to turn to. That's the key to our success." — Briana Martinez, Multilingual Specialist, Uplift Education
Background & Context
Briana Martinez serves as a Multilingual Specialist at Uplift Education, a Texas campus where over 230 Emerging Bilingual scholars — about a third of the total student population — require additional support in English.
From newcomers to near-proficient speakers, Uplift Education's EB population spans the entire spectrum of English learners. It's a population that demands differentiation, responsiveness, and a program capable of meeting every learner exactly where they are.
The goal Briana and her multilingual department set at the start of each year is clear and consistent: every scholar grows at least one composite ELP level. Particular focus goes to beginning-level EB scholars — the students with the most ground to make up.
The Challenge
Uplift Education's previous phonics-based curriculum built foundational skills — but it only covered part of the picture. TELPAS demands proficiency across all four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The program addressed only a fraction of that.
The diversity of the student population made the gap harder to close. With learners spanning multiple home languages and every stage of language acquisition, differentiating instruction across complex, multi-level classrooms was a constant struggle. Students were making progress in some areas while falling behind in others — and it was showing up in assessment results.
The Search for a Better Solution
Uplift Education needed a solution that covered all four language domains, personalized instruction to each learner, and prepared students meaningfully for TELPAS. After evaluating options, they identified Connect to Literacy™ as the strongest fit.
The Solution
Connect to Literacy™ gave Uplift Education's multilingual team what they had been missing — a comprehensive, multi-domain platform ready to use from day one, with every student's learning path calibrated to their proficiency level. Where the previous program left teachers to build differentiated instruction largely on their own, Summit K12 provided it.
What set the experience apart, though, was what happened after launch. Rather than being handed a program and left to figure it out, Briana and her teachers received personal, responsive support tailored to Uplift Education's specific needs. Professional development delivered something new every time. Questions were answered by a real person, not a ticketing system.
Three years in, Connect to Literacy™ has become a cornerstone of how Uplift Education supports its EB scholars.
Most Impactful Features
- Speaking domain activities — Briana's core conviction is that the way students speak is the way they write. Building fluency through academic vocabulary and complete sentences in the speaking domain translated directly into stronger writing performance
- Language Foundations and the Virtual Mirror — For newcomers struggling with pronunciation, the virtual mirror allowed students to watch themselves, position their tongue correctly, and self-correct in real time — a uniquely powerful tool for early language acquisition
- Personalized Learning Paths — Every student works within a path built around their individual needs, making differentiation manageable even across a linguistically diverse campus
- Student-Facing Data — Color-coded progress indicators gave students visibility into their own growth — and that visibility motivated them. Watching scores move from red to yellow made progress feel real and within reach
- TELPAS Alignment — Students who used Connect to Literacy™ went into state assessment knowing what to do, understanding the question types, and comfortable with the format. As Briana put it: "We like to say it gives students multiple at-bats before the real thing."
Dedicated Partnership and Support
The Summit K12 team provided exceptional support. They got to know the school’s context and tailored every touchpoint to the specific needs of Uplift Education. Professional development wasn't a checkbox; it was a genuine source of new learning each time. Questions — no matter how small — were answered by a real person, not a ticketing system.
Now in their third year, the school’s confidence in the platform continues to grow. Teacher comfort with the program has increased steadily, and that growing familiarity has translated directly into more consistent and more effective implementation across the campus.
The Results
Growth and confidence. Those are the two outcomes Briana points to — and both are visible across Uplift Education.
From beginning-of-year to mid-year assessments, Uplift Education saw significant gains in listening and speaking — the domains where consistent practice through Connect to Literacy™ really makes an impact. That growth in the expressive and interpretive domains also began carrying over into reading and writing performance, creating momentum across all four language domains.
- Measurable BOY-to-MOY growth in listening and speaking, with gains extending to reading and writing
- 100% positive teacher feedback — all responses favorable, with teacher confidence growing steadily across the year
- Student readiness — scholars who could hear their own voices improve on recordings, watch their data move, and walk into assessments feeling confident and prepared.
A classroom teacher at Uplift Education specifically spoke about a newcomer student:
"Ever since we started using Summit K-12, he has become such a more confident and better reader. What we're doing is working — and it's translating into the classroom."
This is what Connect to Literacy™, used with fidelity, makes possible.
