H1

How does the Reading Excellence Program fit within the broader context of a state's and school's reform efforts?

The statute strongly encourages state and local education agencies to coordinate Reading Excellence Act activities with existing programs. The Reading Excellence Act requires state educational agencies to build on and promote coordination among literacy programs in the state to increase the effectiveness of the programs in improving reading for adults and children and to avoid duplication of the efforts of the programs. These programs include federally funded programs such as those funded by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as any state, regional, or local programs and initiatives.

A local educational agency that receives a Reading Excellence Act subgrant must ensure that REA funds are effectively coordinated and integrated with other funds available for reading instruction in grades K-6.

H2

How does the President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge fit with the Reading Excellence Act?

The President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge is made up of organizations committed to fulfilling the goals of the America Reads Challenge. Members of the Coalition commit time and resources to building community coalitions for literacy by supporting existing literacy programs and developing new ones where needed, and by recruiting learning partners to work on reading with America's young children from birth through third grade. Coalition members could potentially help schools receiving grants set up the partnerships required under the Reading Excellence Act. Coalition members might also be able to help schools implement tutoring programs and/or set up family literacy services with community partners such as libraries, community based organizations, companies, and other organizations. For more information and a membership list of the President's Coalition, please visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/coalition.html, or call (202) 401-8888.

H3

How does the REA fit with other federal programs and initiatives that support reading?

A variety of federal programs and initiatives, including those in Figure H1 below, are designed to provide reading instruction or to support reading. For optimal success, all reading efforts within a school should be coordinated.

School staff may want to begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the reading needs of all children in the school (including children with special needs such as limited English proficiency and children with disabilities). The assessment might identify the strengths the children possess, skills that need development, range of activities that will potentially improve the reading performance of the children, and professional development that will equip the school staff to address the needs of the children. The staff can then select the scientifically based reading program that best meets student needs and align professional development activities to support program implementation. Reading instruction should be seamless across grades within the school.

Having determined the appropriate reading strategy or strategies for the children and the professional development required, the school, with the assistance of the LEA, would then identify and coordinate all sources of funds available to support these activities.

H4

How should Reading Excellence Programs work with Title I?

Given the criteria for school eligibility under the REA, many schools participating in the REA will be Title I schools. Some of these schools will be eligible for REA funds because they are in Title I school improvement status; others will qualify for both Title I and REA because of their level of poverty. (A school or an LEA participating in Title I is identified for Title I improvement if, for two consecutive years, it has not made adequate yearly progress toward meeting the state?s student performance standards as defined in the state?s plan.)

For participating schools that are in Title I school improvement status, the LEA and school must coordinate Title I school improvement activities with the Local Reading Improvement and/or Tutorial Assistance Subgrant activities. This includes coordinating professional development activities, where appropriate, and technical assistance provided to the LEA and school as part of its Title I school improvement status. In addition, the Title I statute requires each Title I program to include strategies to increase parent involvement, such as family literacy services.

Participating schools that receive Title I funds but which are not in school improvement status may also want to coordinate activities, but the exact procedures for doing so may vary depending on whether the school has a schoolwide program or is a targeted assistance school.

• A school-wide program school is a Title I school with 50 percent or more of its children from low-income families. It has the flexibility to plan and implement comprehensive strategies for improving the whole school so that every student, especially those at greatest risk of school failure, achieves to high levels of proficiency.

• Schools that decide to operate school-wide programs have great latitude to determine how to organize their operations and utilize the multiple funding sources available to them. They do not have to identify particular children as eligible for services or separately track federal dollars. Instead, school-wide program schools can use all allocated funds to increase the amount and quality of learning time. In this way, they can embrace a high-quality curriculum, according to a comprehensive plan they have developed that ensures that children meet the state?s challenging academic standards.

(For examples of how a Title I schoolwide program school can meet the intent and purposes of various Federal education programs whose funds may be combined in a schoolwide program, see the Schoolwide Program Notice published on September 21, 1995. (See http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/title-fr.html.)

• A targeted assistance school is a Title I school that is ineligible for or has chosen not to operate a school-wide program. The term "targeted assistance" signifies that the services are provided to a select group of children?those identified as failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the state?s challenging content and performance standards?rather than for overall school improvement, as in a school-wide program school.

Like school-wide program schools, the goal of a targeted assistance school is to improve teaching and learning to enable participants to meet the state?s challenging state performance standards that all children are expected to master. To accomplish this goal, a targeted assistance program must be based on effective means for improving achievement of participants; use effective instructional strategies that give priority to extended time; provide accelerated, high quality curricula; minimize removing children from the regular classroom during regular school hours; coordinate with and support the regular educational program; provide instruction by highly qualified and trained professional staff; and implement strategies to increase parental involvement.

H5

How will the Reading Excellence Program coordinate with a Title I School Improvement Plan?

Each school identified for Title I school improvement, in consultation with parents, the local educational agency, and the school support team:

• develops or revises a school plan in ways that have the greatest likelihood of improving performance of participating children in meeting the state?s student performance standards;

• submits the plan or revised plan to the local educational agency for approval;

• improves the skills of its staff by providing effective professional development activities, devoting to such activities (over two consecutive years) at least 10 percent of the Title I funds received or otherwise demonstrating that the school is carrying out effective professional development activities; and

• receives technical assistance from the local educational agency or its designee as the school develops and implements its plan.

The proposed Reading Excellence Program activities should be coordinated and integrated with the school?s school improvement plan.

H6

How will the REA work with the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program?

The Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program, new in 1998, will help raise student achievement by assisting public schools across the country to implement effective, comprehensive school reforms that are based on reliable research and effective practices, and that include an emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement. The CSRD is designed to build upon and leverage ongoing efforts to connect higher standards with school improvement at the state and local level through Title I and other major reform initiatives. The CSRD is intended to foster coherent school-wide improvements that cover virtually all aspects of a school's operations?including reading programs?rather than piecemeal, fragmented approaches to reform. Because of this, schools that receive funds under both the CSRD and the REA will need to ensure that efforts under the two programs are complementary.

H7

Are family literacy activities conducted under the Reading Excellence Act the same as those conducted under the Even Start Family Literacy and Adult Education programs?

The same definition of "family literacy services" applies to programs funded under the Reading Excellence Act, the Even Start Family Literacy program (Title I, Part B), and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. That definition has the following four general components: (1) parent and child together (PACT) literacy activities; (2) parenting education; (3) adult literacy training; and (4) age-appropriate child education.

A local education agency receiving a Local Reading Improvement subgrant may chose to carry out the required "family literacy services" based on a program following the Even Start model, or use another family literacy program model. In addition to the four family literacy service components, Even Start programs must serve low income families with children from birth through age seven who are among those most in need of family literacy services in the community. Even Start programs must also provide some instructional services in the home.

H8

How should a state educational agency coordinate the administration of its Local Reading Improvement subgrants with family literacy programs supported by Even Start, Title I Part A, or Adult Education programs?

One of the purposes of the Reading Excellence Act is "to expand the number of high-quality family literacy programs." State educational agencies receiving a Reading Excellence Act grant are required to assure that each local educational agency to which they make a subgrant will provide family literacy services based on programs such as the Even Start family literacy model. Local educational agencies, in turn, must include an assurance that they will provide those family literacy services.

One way states can coordinate administration of the Local Reading Improvement subgrants with other family literacy programs is through Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative grants. The Reading Excellence Act provided increased funding under Section 1202(c) of the Even Start law for these grants to coordinate and, where appropriate, integrate existing federal, state, and local literacy resources to strengthen and expand family literacy services in the state. States with an Even Start Statewide Initiative grant must coordinate family literacy activities through a consortium of state-level programs. That coordination must include activities of the reading and literacy partnership formed by a state receiving a Reading Excellence Act grant, as well as other programs such as Title I Part A, Even Start, and Adult Education.

H9

How does the Reading Excellence Act fit with the America Reads/Work-Study Program?

On July 1, 1997, the U.S. Department of Education encouraged Federal Work-Study students to serve as reading tutors by waiving the requirement that employers pay part of their wages. In just one year, more than 1000 colleges and universities have joined the America Reads/Work-Study Program. School districts receiving local reading improvement grants must use part of their award to train and supervise tutors. In addition, school districts participating in tutorial assistance grants must arrange tutoring for children in selected schools. These programs can take place after school, before school, during non-instructional periods during the school day, on weekends, and during the summer. College Work-Study student tutors from nearby colleges and universities could be a resource to schools and tutorial assistance providers as they implement and strengthen these programs. For a complete list of colleges and universities currently signed on to America Reads, please visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/commited.html. For information on how to contact a college not on the list, please call (202) 401-8888.