Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine visited Emerson Elementary on Oct. 28 as part of his statewide “Literacy Leaders” tour. The tour highlights schools that excel in literacy education, grammar education and success in implementing the Science of Reading (SoR) curriculum.
Emerson was the second stop on the statewide tour. Along with three other Lakewood elementary schools — Lincoln, Hayes and Roosevelt — Emerson previously received the “Governor’s Science of Reading Champions” designation in March 2025. The distinction was awarded to a total of 47 elementary schools in recognition of how they adapted to the curriculum.
Emerson was chosen for the tour due to its remarkable growth in literacy rates among children. The school reportedly achieved an English Language Arts performance index of 95.4%, far surpassing its goal of 85.7%. This visit is a result of that progress, as reading skills in many grades have increased significantly.
Steven Ast, Director of Teaching and Learning, explained the district’s implementation process: “We’ve adopted new curriculum materials, new assessments and we revisited how we monitor our students’ growth throughout the school year,” he said. “So our progress tracks the beginning of the year, middle of the year, [and] end of the year.”
The Science of Reading curriculum replaces previous reading and literature plans. While former curricula focused on phonetics and sounding out words, the program emphasizes strong phonetics, research-based reading and the ability to form well-structured sentences. The curriculum is backed by state research used to curate instructional learning. Lakewood City Schools began incorporating the curriculum nearly five years before it was mandated by the state.
DeWine commented on the scope of the new program, noting, “We used to talk about phonics. The Science of Reading contains phonics, but it’s other things as well.”
The governor arrived at 10 a.m. to tour Emerson’s facilities. He first met with Lakewood district officials at a roundtable meeting in the library to discuss how the school was implementing the program. Christine McElwee, school intervention specialist, described the instructional approach: “We make sure that the instruction is multisensory … students are manipulating tasks, getting up and really being active in their learning.”
Following the discussion, DeWine visited different classrooms showcasing proficiency across multiple grades. His first stop was the kindergarten room, where students were being taught rhyming words, an essential skill they would use throughout the curriculum. Next, he met with second graders, who practiced rhyming and building sentences with rhymed words. The teacher prompted the children with a word, and they had to find words that rhymed and then use those words to create multiple sentences, demonstrating their understanding of word definitions and sentence-building skills.
The final classroom stop was a special education classroom. Although the students were shy during the visit, the teacher reported that they have been showing exceeding reading and comprehension results. DeWine spoke with the students about their activities and quickly became friends with them.
He ended the tour by answering interview questions from various news outlets about pressing state and federal topics. He emphasized the importance of the curriculum: “We now know that this is the best way to teach kids how to read,” DeWine said. He added, “Emerson should be very, very proud of all the teachers. And everyone connected with Emerson should be very proud of the results. Students should be glad, too.”
The governor’s visit highlights the Lakewood City School District’s dedication to supporting its students. Through continuous adaptation and growth, Emerson Elementary has become a shining example of innovative teaching and a leader in literacy development.
