Grants Awarded to Help Struggling Readers
Author: U.S. Department of Education
Published: 2009/09/29 - Updated: 2010/06/25
Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Related Publications
Synopsis: $6.6 million in Striving Readers grants to improve the literacy skills of struggling adolescent readers.
Introduction
Eight states will receive $6.6 million in Striving Readers grants to improve the literacy skills of struggling adolescent readers, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today.Main Content
The purpose of the Striving Readers program is to raise reading achievement in Title I-eligible middle and high schools where significant numbers of students are faced with the challenges of poverty and reading below grade level.
"When students enter middle and high school with reading skills that are significantly below grade level, they are at great risk of dropping out," said Secretary Duncan. "Programs like Striving Readers give students a chance to improve their reading skills and succeed in school and in life."
The programs funded by the Striving Readers grants include a range of research-based adolescent literacy projects serving diverse populations. Each program includes a rigorous evaluation conducted by independent researchers. The president's 2010 budget request would nearly double the funding for activities supported by Striving Readers to $70.4 million. In addition, the president's budget request includes $300 million for new Early Literacy Grants to school districts to test a variety of strategies designed to improve children's reading comprehension in the elementary grades.
Grantees may use the Striving Readers funds for activities such as interventions for middle and high school-aged students to improve basic reading skills, motivation, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension using research-based programs; for professional development aligned with scientifically based reading research; for valid and reliable reading assessments; and for the design and implementation of a rigorous evaluation.
A complete list of the grantees follows:
| Name | State | Funding Year 1 |
| Michigan Department of Education | MI | $945,052 |
| Illinois State Board of Education | IL | $727,359 |
| Washington Office of the Superintendent of Instruction | WA | $628,952 |
| Virginia Department of Education | VA | $594,891 |
| New York State Department of Education | NY | $782,461 |
| Kentucky Department of Education | KY | $645,359 |
| Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction | WI | $1,286,966 |
| Louisiana Department of Education | LA | $1,002,022 |
| $6,613,062 |