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U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today launched what he called "the start of the most major reading reform ever conceived of in the United States - classroom instruction born of proven methods and funded with an unprecedented 300 percent increase in federal funding."

President Bush has made improving children's reading achievement a centerpiece of his education reform agenda and has tremendous passion for the issue, Paige said. Knowledgeable about what high-quality reading instruction can mean for children, President Bush designed Reading First as the solution to poor reading achievement among U.S. students.

"It's time to fund curriculum and teacher training programs and reading programs not based upon what sounds good, or some theory, but based upon what works, so that children can learn to read in America," President Bush stated earlier this year.

The Reading First program will help states and school districts improve student achievement by implementing early reading instruction based on scientific reading research. The new program was recently passed into law by a bipartisan majority of Congress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. President Bush has asked Congress for even more funding in his FY 2003 budget request - $1 billion - to fund the second year of the program.

"Today we begin the most significant reform of reading instruction and achievement ever to take place in this nation," Paige said. "Reading First is the largest - and yet most focused - early reading initiative this country has ever undertaken. This dramatic shift from the fads of the past, which have sacrificed too many hopeful young readers, will ensure that all kids, not just some kids, can read well by the end of the third grade."

The new $900 million for Reading First will help schools and school districts improve K-3 reading instruction - and children's reading achievement - based on methods proven by rigorous scientific reading research. The program centers on:

• raising the caliber and quality of classroom instruction;
• basing instruction on scientific research proven to work in the teaching of reading;
• providing professional training for educators in reading instruction, and
• supplying substantial resources to support the unprecedented initiative.

State applications will undergo a rigorous review by a panel of reading experts, selected by the secretary of education, the National Institute for Literacy, the National Research Council, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. States with approved applications will receive funds under a formula beginning July 1, 2002. Once funded, states will open competitions for subgrants to eligible school districts. A list of estimated state grants is available at: www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/01/estimates.html.

The National Reading Panel issued a report in April 2000 after reviewing 100,000 studies on how students learn to read. The panel concluded, "effective reading instruction includes teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words [phonemic awareness], teaching them that these sounds are represented by letters of the alphabet which can then be blended together to form words [phonics], having them practice what they have learned by reading aloud with guidance and feedback [guided oral reading], and applying reading comprehension strategies to guide and improve reading comprehension."

To equip states with the information needed to implement Reading First, Paige hosted state teams of policymakers and key education leaders at three Reading Leadership Academies earlier this year.

The application for Reading First state grants will be available online at: www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/applicant.html.

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