A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
August 13, 1999

Contact:
Julie Green or
Laura Segal
(202) 401-3026

RILEY ANNOUNCES $231.8 MILLION IN GRANTS TO STATES
TO IMPROVE CHILDREN'S READING

Reading Excellence Act grant descriptions

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has awarded $231.8 million to 17 states to help improve the reading skills of pre-kindergarten through third-grade children, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley announced today.

The states to be funded are Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

The grants are the first to be awarded under the new Reading Excellence Act (REA), described by Riley as "the most significant law on child literacy passed by Congress in more than 30 years." The grants will enable states to create programs that use scientifically based reading research to improve the reading skills of up to 500,000 elementary school students, particularly at-risk students who need additional help during the critical primary grades of K-3.

The program is designed to:

• provide children with the readiness skills and support they need to learn to read once they start school;
• help each child learn to read well and independently by the end of the 3rd grade;
• use research-based methods to improve reading instruction;
• expand the number of high-quality family literacy programs; and,
• provide early intervention for children with reading difficulties.

" We are at a critical point in making a difference in the lives of children by helping them learn to read well by the end of 3rd grade," Riley said. " Today we see unparalleled activity in schools and communities to help more children read well. With evidence of improvements in reading scores, we are starting to see movement in the right direction. These grants will help maintain and accelerate this improvement."

The federal support for improved reading instruction comes at a crucial time for America's youth, Riley said. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 68 percent of 4th graders in high-poverty schools and 38 percent of 4th graders overall read below the basic achievement level.

States competed for the grants and the funded states will run competitions for eligible local school districts. Because low-income students fail at reading more often than their affluent peers, the program concentrates support to high-poverty districts. States must allocate 85 percent of the funds to districts to support research-based reading instruction; teacher professional development; extended learning, including tutoring and summer programs; and family literacy. State grants are for three years.

States submitted grant applications that described their goals for improving reading in the primary grades. A panel of 25 nationally known experts in reading, research and school reform evaluated the applications. ED, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute for Literacy and the National Academy of Sciences nominated the panel members.

Riley recently issued "Start Early, Finish Strong," a guide for communities developed by the America Reads Challenge and aimed at helping every child learn to read. The focus is on getting young children ready to learn to read early and providing effective, research-based instruction in childcare settings, pre-kindergarten and the primary grades. The report notes that while children are expected to learn to read in the primary grades, by the fourth grade, students are expected to read to learn -- underscoring the critical need to help children master reading early. The report also outlines proven strategies for teaching reading detailed in the landmark 1998 report by the National Research Council, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Children.

President Clinton has requested $286 million for Fiscal Year 2000 to provide for the growth and continuation of the Reading Excellence program. However, in announcing the 1999 grants, Riley expressed his disappointment over the recently passed House tax cut bill. "If the bill becomes law," Riley said, "the Reading Excellence Program will be cut drastically. Preliminary estimates show that the program would essentially be cut in half - and half a million children would not get the help they need to learn to read. Congress is thinking short-term, and short-changing our children."

The reading and literacy grants of the REA are authorized under an amendment to Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

NOTE TO EDITORS: A summary of state proposals will be available at www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/

Following is a list of state contacts and awards.

Alabama Florida Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Texas Utah Vermont West Virginia	Contact: Dr. Katherine Mitchell Contact: Lou Marsh Contact: James H. Reese Contact: Sharon Freden Contact: Debbie Schumacher Contact: Pam Wall Contact: Katherine Manning Contact: Gertrude Collier Contact: Linda Martin Contact: Dr. Jane Wiechel Contact: Dawn Billings Contact: James Scheffer Contact: Charlotte Diffendale Contact: Gina S. Day Contact: Jane Dole Contact: Susan S. Biggam Contact: Beverly Kingery	(334) 353-1389 (850) 487-3520 (515) 281-5751 (785) 296-2303 (502) 564-7056 (225) 342-9442 (207) 287-5306 (410) 767-0341 (781) 388-3300 (614) 466-0224 (503) 378-8004 (117) 783-2193 (401) 222-4600 (512) 463-9027 (801) 538-7823 (802) 828-5412 (304) 558-7805	$ 7,500,000 26,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 7,500,000 15,014,966 4,000,000 14,198,868 18,306,000 30,056,270 6,243,775 30,000,000 4,000,000 35,999,855 7,000,000 2,010,944 5,992,005
			Total   $231,822,683

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