U.S. Department of Education Awards More Than $26 Million in Grants to Support Literacy in High-Needs Schools
The U.S. Department of Education is awarding more than $26 million to 29 grantees to develop and improve high-quality literacy programs in high-needs schools. The Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants will focus on the literacy needs of children in grades pre-K -12.
"Reading is the most fundamental academic skill our children need to master to become successful in school and in life, said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. "Access to books and proven literacy instruction are critical to narrowing the achievement gap in education to help children thrive."
The literacy grants support high-quality programs that are research based and focus on the following:
- Increasing access to a wide range of literacy resources that prepare young children to read.
- Providing high-quality childhood literacy activities with meaningful opportunities for parental engagement, including encouraging parents to read books often with their children in their early years of life and school, and teaching parents how to use literacy resources effectively.
- Strengthening literacy development across academic content areas by providing a wealth of literacy resources spanning a range of both complexity and content to effectively support reading and writing.
- Offering appropriate educational interventions for all readers with support from school libraries or national not-for-profit organizations.
- Fostering collaboration and joint professional development opportunities for teachers, school leaders, and school librarians with a focus on using literacy resources effectively to support reading and writing, and academic achievement.
- Providing resources to support literacy-rich academic and enrichment activities and services.
Many schools and districts in underserved communities have limited access to school libraries that deliver high-quality literacy programming and adequate books and resources for children from low-income families. In addition, many of these children have limited access to age- and grade-level appropriate reading material in their homes. Since 2012, the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program has made 81 grants to support efforts to improve literacy programming.
FY 2016 Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grantees
| State | Name | FY 2016 Grant |
|---|---|---|
| NY | Addison Central School District | $425,547 |
| NC | Ashe County Schools District | $422,310 |
| MD | Baltimore City Public Schools | $370,287 |
| OK | Bokoshe School District | $735,389 |
| NJ | Camden City Board of Education | $409,344 |
| DC | Commonlit Inc.* | $1,920,518 |
| KY | Corbin Independent Schools | $225,000 |
| TX | Crockett Independent School District | $406,219 |
| SC | Dillon School District Four | $389,573 |
| KY | Grayson County Board of Education | $718,161 |
| KS | Karnes City Independent School District | $500,683 |
| KY | Kentucky Educational Development Corporation | $3,185,585 |
| OK | Lane Elementary | $380,698 |
| OK | LeFlore Public Schools | $227,038 |
| OK | Maryetta School District 22 | $470,096 |
| KY | Newport Independent Schools | $988,726 |
| AK | Northwest Arctic Borough School District | $487,191 |
| KY | Owsley County Schools | $750,000 |
| MS | Perry County School District | $381,259 |
| MN | Reading & Math, Inc.* | $2,581,810 |
| KY | Russellville Independent School District | $749,417 |
| CA | Sacramento City Unified School District | $749,998 |
| PA | School District of Philadelphia | $750,000 |
| MS | Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District | $517,689 |
| OK | Stilwell Public Schools | $463,174 |
| TX | Texans Can Academies | $545,082 |
| NM | Three Rivers Education Foundation* | $5,531,091 |
| KY | West Kentucky Educational Cooperative | $278,726 |
| NC | Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools | $709,870 |
* Grantee is a national nonprofit and operates in multiple states
