MORE THAN $108.8 MILLION IN EARLY READING FIRST GRANTS AWARDED

MORE THAN $108.8 MILLION IN EARLY READING FIRST GRANTS AWARDED TO 28 RECIPIENTS TO PREPARE YOUNG CHILDREN TO READ

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the award of more than $108.8 million in Early Reading First grants to 28 local education agencies and other public or private organizations in 18 states and Washington, D.C., to improve the school readiness of young children, especially those from low-income families. The Department of Education awards Early Reading First grants to school districts and non-profit organizations to improve the instruction and environment provided by preschool programs supported by the Title I program, Head Start, and publicly funded or subsidized child care.

“We know that the years prior to kindergarten are critical in shaping how children learn and succeed in school,” Secretary Duncan said. “Increasing the number of high-quality, early learning opportunities through programs like Early Reading First, especially for low-income families, improves a child’s chance for success in school and in life.”

In March, as President Obama announced his agenda for improving educational outcomes from cradle through career, he challenged states to develop a cutting-edge plan to raise the quality of their early learning programs. Programs like Early Reading First and the proposed Early Learning Challenge Fund legislation, a part of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, will help states raise the bar for early learning programs.

The President’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget request includes a $50 million increase for Early Reading First and would support up to 52 new projects to help early childhood programs meet the challenges of preparing pre-school children for success in school by providing high-quality, research-based experiences in language and early literacy. Existing programs like Early Reading First and Head Start, along with the proposed Early Learning Challenge Fund legislation—a component of the zero-to-five initiative—will be of great importance as the Administration pursues the President’s commitment to expanding support for quality early childhood education.

“Language and literacy development are critical to school success,” says Jacqueline Jones, Ph.D., Secretary Duncan’s senior advisor for early learning. “Providing high-quality learning experiences for at-risk children can ultimately increase graduation rates, set more children on the path to college and careers, and support our nation’s long-term economic competitiveness.”

Early Reading First supports the transformation of existing early learning programs into high-quality centers of educational excellence that ensure low-income children have the early language, cognitive and pre-reading skills that prepare them for continued school success. These programs improve preschool instructional materials, professional development and classroom environments through scientifically proven practices. Early Reading First programs also help young children develop language, phonological awareness, print awareness and knowledge of the alphabet necessary to begin to learn how to read.

For more information about Early Reading First, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html. A complete list of the grantees follows:

Applicant Name	Applicant State	Federal Funding Three Year Amount
Fontana Unified School District--Early Education, Instructional Services Project Name: Unified School District – Ready to Read Project Director: Laurie D. Finucane	CA	$2,887,050.00
Long Beach Unified School District Project Name: Long Beach Unified School District’s SPARK Program – Students in Preschool Acquiring Reading Knowledge Project Director: Lauren Shaw	CA	$3,516,055.00
School District 1, City and County of Denver Project Name: Lab Enhanced Approach to ReadiNess (LEARN) in Denver Public Schools Project Director: Jane Walsh	CO	$2,926,398.00
Weld County School District 6 Project Name: Greeley Early Reading First Project: Early Excellence Project Director: Nancy Divine	CO	$3,282,004.00
Septima Clark Public Charter School Project Name: Helping Emergent Literacy Progress (HELP) Project Director: Nancy Mahon	DC	$2,651,715.00
University of Delaware--Delaware Center for Teacher Education, Human Services Education and Public Policy Project Name: Unlocking Doors to Language and Literacy Project Director: Carol Vukelich	DE	$3,674,921.00
United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education Project Name: Literacy Enhancement for Early Readers (LEER) Project Director: Gladys R. Montes	FL	$3,570,226.00
Clarke County School District---Office of Early Learning, Instructional Services Project Name: Ready to Read Project Director: Jan Stephens	GA	$5,823,608.00

Applicant Name	Applicant State	Federal Funding Three Year Amount
United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta Project Name: APPLE: Atlanta Preschools Pursuing Literacy Excellence Project Director: Sharen Hausmann	GA	$4,486,866.00
University of Hawaii--Center on the Family Project Name: Hui A’o Mua Project Director: Barbara DeBaryshe	HI	$3,812,216.00
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois--Center for Literacy Project Name: Opening the World of Learning Project Director: Jeffri Brookfield	IL	$4,194,555.00
Chicago Public Schools, District #299---Early Childhood Education Project Name: Enhancing Early Reading in Chicago (EERIC) Project Director: Joan Berger	IL	$4,044,066.00
Illinois Action for Children---Early Learning Project Name: Illinois Action for Community Early Reading First Project Director: Diana Brown	IL	$2,286,525.11
Little Sprouts, Inc. Project Name: EPIC: Excellence, Passion, Innovation and Courage Project Director: Meghan McGinley Crowe	MA	$4,395,813.00
University of Massachusetts Boston---Institute for Community Inclusion, Early Childhood Project Name: Early Literacy Matters Project Director: Lisa A. Van Thiel	MA	$3,763,701.00
Office of Public Instruction, Montana Office of--Education Services, Educational Opportunity and Equity Project Name: The Montana Partnership for Early Literacy Project Director: Deborah K. Hunsaker	MT	$6,090,241.00

Applicant Name	Applicant State	Federal Funding Three Year Amount
Columbus County Schools Project Name: CORE: Communities Organizing for Reading Excellence Project Director: Tammy Jordan	NC	$4,319,641.00
Southwest Institute for Families and Children--New Mexico Chapter Project Name: Pump Up the Volume in Preschool (PVIP) Project Director: Karen Burstein	NM	$5,628,801.00
Binghamton City School District Project Name: Project CLEAR (Creating Learning for Equal Access to Reading) Project Director: Tonia Thompson	NY	$4,317,831.00
Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Education Services---Human Resources Department Project Name: Bridges to Literacy (BtL) Project Director: Roberta Senzer	NY	$3,277,488.00
Olean City School District Project Name: MADE: Make A Difference Early Project Director: Lynn Corder	NY	$2,749,102.00
The University of Akron---Curricular and Instructional Studies, College of Education Project Name: Teaching Technology Transfer for Language and Literacy Learning in Child Care Centers (TLC3): An Innovative Approach Project Director: Terry Hallett	OH	$3,726,887.00
Connecting for Children and Families, Inc Project Name: Phenomenal Readers: Northern Rhode Island’s Early Reading Project Project Director: Terese Curtin	RI	$3,329,172.00
The Providence Plan Project Name: Ready to Learn Project Director: Leslie Gell	RI	$3,930,000.00

Applicant Name	Applicant State	Federal Funding Three Year Amount
Mt. Pleasant Independent School District Project Name: Community of Readers (CoRe) Project Director: Michelle Huffman	TX	$3,095,291.00
South San Antonio Independent School District Project Name: STARS (Systematic, Targeted, and Appropriate, Reading Strategies) Project Director: Mourette Hodge	TX	$4,500,000.00
Norfolk Public Schools Project Name: Project PURPLE (Preschoolers Up on Readiness, Pre-Reading and Literacy Enrichment) Project Director: Myrna C. Simmons	VA	$4,500,000.00
Puget Sound Educational Service District--Learning and Teaching Project Name: Highline Foundations for Literacy Project Director: Kay E. Lancaster	WA	$4,102,582.00