More Resources Information on Grantees (2004)

Thirty-two local education agencies and organizations will share more than $90 million in three-year Early Reading First grants to improve the language and pre-reading skills of young children, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today.

"President Bush believes that all children can learn and deserve the opportunity to learn," Secretary Paige said. "That’s why he pushed for the No Child Left Behind education reforms.

"Reading is fundamental—it is the skill upon which all others are based. These Early Reading First grants will help ensure that even our youngest children have access to the highest-quality, research-based programs. Children in these programs will enter school at the kindergarten level truly ready to learn, and to achieve their full potential throughout their school careers and throughout their lives. Our nation’s children deserve no less."

Early Reading First is President Bush’s initiative to improve the school readiness of our nation’s young children, especially those from low-income families, by supporting early childhood education programs. It builds upon the President’s vast Good Start, Grow Smart initiative to improve early childhood education and strengthen early learning for young children.

The No Child Left Behind Act is the bipartisan landmark education reform law designed to change the culture of America’s schools by closing the achievement gap among groups of students, offering more flexibility to states, giving parents more options and teaching students based on what works. Under the law’s strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those with disabilities, achieve academically.

More information about the No Child Left Behind Act is available at www.ed.gov.

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