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U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of a $4,034,108 Early Reading First grant to Marquette University to support its Wisconsin Reading Acquisition Program (WRAP), a partnership with Day Care Services for Children, Inc. The three-year grant, which was announced during Secretary Spellings' visit to Humboldt Park Charter School in Milwaukee, will help more than 300 pre-schoolers per year to learn the critical foundations of reading. During her visit, Secretary Spellings also held a roundtable discussion with parents and educators about Early Reading First and its counterpart, Reading First.

"Early Reading First and Reading First have helped to crack the code and prove what strategies are most effective in helping kids learn to read well," said Secretary Spellings. "These programs are lifelines for many of our nation's most vulnerable children and families, and one thing we know for certain is that Congress must restore the full $1 billion appropriation for Reading First, so that more children can benefit from programs like those in Milwaukee schools."

Based on more than two decades of research into what works in reading instruction, these programs are already producing great results for students in Wisconsin and nationwide. Early Reading First is currently assisting more than 1,700 students across Wisconsin and 56,000 youngsters throughout the country. In Wisconsin, nearly two thirds of students enrolled in Early Reading First programs have made significant gains in oral language skills, a critical foundation of early reading.

State reading test scores are improving nationwide. First graders made gains in reading comprehension in 44 out of 50 states with 31 states, including Wisconsin, reporting gains of five points or more. On the Wisconsin state assessment exam, the percentage of first graders scoring "proficient" in reading fluency increased 28 points and reading comprehension rose 12 percent.

Early Reading First supports the development of early childhood centers of excellence that ensure low-income children have the early language, cognitive, and pre-reading skills that prepare them for continued school success. Reading First funds professional development, scientifically based instructional programs, materials, and strategies, valid and reliable screening, diagnostic and ongoing classroom assessments, and statewide accountability and leadership structures. Reading First is designed to help needy students in grades K-3, while Early Reading First helps preschool age children. Under No Child Left Behind, State educational agencies have received over $6 billion in Reading First grants. President Bush's proposed budget for FY 2009 includes $1 billion for Reading First. Earlier this year, Congress indicated its refusal to continue funding for this important program in the FY 2009 appropriations bill.

For more information about Reading First, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/index.html

For a fact sheet on Reading First, please visit http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/readingfirst.html

For more information about Early Reading First, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html.

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