U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Arkansas will receive $9.8 million for Reading First to help schools and school districts improve students' reading achievement using scientifically proven methods of instruction.

The state's application passed a rigorous review panel that judged the plan against 25 main review criteria.

All told, Arkansas will receive $64.3 million over six years, subject to the state's successful implementation and congressional appropriations.

The grant announced today supports significant improvements in classroom reading instruction based on proven methods, screening and diagnosis of reading difficulties, monitoring of student progress, and thorough and high-quality professional development for teachers. States will build a statewide infrastructure to guide reform and assist school districts that are funded under a state-run competition for subgrants.

"Reading First will help transform reading instruction from the fads of the past into the most focused, early reading initiative ever undertaken in this nation," Paige said. "The program's focus on scientific evidence, including the essential elements of proven reading instruction, constitutes a recipe for success. These funds will help ensure that that all Arkansas children will be given the tools and instruction they need to read well by the end of the third grade."

When President Bush entered office, he made improving children's reading achievement a centerpiece of his education reform agenda. Research shows that reading failure exacts a heavy toll on student motivation and school performance, and improved early reading instruction can be the first step toward raising academic achievement.

The president designed Reading First around an extensive knowledge base of the skills children need to learn to read. The program reflects the recommendations of a congressionally mandated, exhaustive review of scientifically based research on how students learn to read, completed by the National Reading Panel in 2000.

Reading First was passed into law by a bipartisan majority of Congress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and centers on the following priorities:

• 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.

To help states develop quality programs and solid applications, states had the benefit of nearly three days of assistance to develop their state strategies and Reading First applications during the Secretary's Reading Leadership Academies that all states attended this spring.

State applications 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. Paige recently announced awards to Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Utah.

States that are successful will receive funds under a formula and will run competitions for subgrants to eligible school districts. A list of estimated state grants, and next year's funding under President Bush's request for $1 billion for the second year of the program, is available at: www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/01/estimates.html.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about Arkansas' plans for Reading First, contact: Krista Underwood at (501) 682-4470.

###

Top

Back to August 2002