States are the first to receive share of $900 million in Reading First grants to improve students' reading achievement
| FOR RELEASE: June 25, 2002 |
Contact: Melinda Malico (202) 401-1576 |
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U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Alabama, Colorado and Florida will receive the first major new grants to help schools and school districts improve student's reading achievement under Reading First, President Bush's extraordinary reading reform initiative built on scientifically based research.
The three states' applications were considered excellent, Paige said, and each passed a rigorous panel review that judged state plans to meet 25 review criteria.
Alabama will receive $15.5 million this year, and $102 million over six years; Colorado will receive $9 million this year and $59 million over six years; and Florida will receive $45.6 million and $300 million over six years. The six–year totals are subject to each state's successful implementation and congressional appropriations. This year's funds become available to states on July 1.
The grants announced today support 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 we have ever undertaken," Paige said. "The program's focus on scientific evidence, including the essential elements of proven reading instruction, constitutes a recipe for success. We can now ensure that all 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. States that are successful 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, 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/pressreleases/2002/01/estimates.html.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about Alabama's plans for Reading First, contact: Katherine Mitchell (334) 353-1389. For more information about Colorado's plans for Reading First, contact: Jan Silverstein (303) 866-6635. For more information about Florida's plans for Reading First, contact: Mary Laura Openshaw, (850) 921-9969.
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