SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Two Massachusetts projects are set to receive more than $3 million in grants to improve the language and pre-reading skills of young children, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today.

The Little Sprout Child Enrichment Centers will receive $1.5 million and the Springfield Public Schools will get $1.6 million in Early Reading First awards. Early Reading First is President Bush's initiative to transform existing early education programs into preschool centers of educational excellence that provide high-quality, early education to young children, especially those from low-income families. It builds upon the president's vast Good Start, Grow Smart initiative to improve early learning.

"President Bush believes that we can give every child the reading skills they need," Secretary Paige said. "Children who are most at risk benefit the most from high-quality early learning experiences. And yet, these children are the least likely to have access to programs providing these experiences.

"The good news is: we know what works. Scientific research tells us that in the preschool years, young children need to develop their vocabulary, acquire the ability to hear the sounds that make up words, and learn about how print and books work. These skills should not be taught in isolation, but instead integrated into challenging content that explores the fundamentals of science, mathematics and social studies in enjoyable and meaningful ways for young children."

On behalf of Secretary Paige, Michael Sentance, the secretary's regional representative, joined Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Burke for a visit to the Island Pond Pre-K Center in Springfield.

The Early Reading First grant program has five aims:

• Provide professional development for teachers, based on scientific research, to enhance children's language, cognitive and early reading skills.
• Provide preschool-age children with cognitive learning opportunities and high-quality language and literature rich environments.
• Integrate materials, activities and instruction that is grounded in scientifically based reading research to support the development of young children's oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness and alphabetic knowledge.
• Use screenings and assessments to determine the skills children are learning in order to prevent reading failure.
• Improve all aspects of an instructional program, including materials, activities, tools and assessments.

Numerous early reading resources are available for parents and educators. Publications may be downloaded or ordered through: http://www.ed.gov/about/pubs.jsp.

Early Reading First is authorized under Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. For more information about Early Reading First, go to: http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html

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