U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that a national initiative will be launched to help improve students' reading achievement. The new National Center for Reading First Technical Assistance will offer free training and support to states and districts that have received Reading First grants to improve children's reading achievement through scientifically proven methods of instruction. Reading First is the centerpiece of President Bush's sweeping education reform law, the No Child Left Behind Act. The department has awarded a five-year, $36.8 million contract to RMC Research Corporation to run the Center.

"Reading is critical to success in today's society, and research tells us that reading well in the early years is especially critical," Secretary Paige said. "The key to helping all children learn is to support teachers by giving them the tools that have been proven to work. And that's what the president's Reading First program is all about: helping states and schools establish high-quality, scientifically based reading instruction for children in kindergarten through third grade. This new national center will enhance our efforts to increase reading achievement for all students and will help ensure that every child learns to read at grade level so they don't have to play catch-up later, which is much more difficult."

The contract is the result of a competitive bid process. The national center will include three regional centers that will be operated by Florida State University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oregon. The regional centers will provide expertise on improving reading programs using instruction based on proven teaching methods.

States and districts will receive training in scientifically based reading research and instruction; assistance in reviewing programs, materials and assessments; critiques of Reading First sub-grant applications and scoring rubrics; and training in using assessment data to improve student reading performance.

Technical assistance will be provided through a range of learning opportunities, including: national and regional conferences, institutes and seminars; training and professional development; on-site, telephone and e-mail consultations; new materials; and links to national reading experts.

President Bush launched the Reading First initiative to improve all children's reading achievement. Studies show that when children fail to learn how to read during their early school years, every aspect of school success is affected. Academic achievement can be enhanced through early diagnosis and intervention. Reading First was designed around an extensive knowledge base of the essential skills children must have to learn to read. The program reflects the findings of an extensive congressionally mandated review of scientifically based research on how students learn to read, completed by the National Reading Panel in 2000.

Reading First was passed into law by a bipartisan majority of Congress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and centers on the following priorities:

• Raising the caliber and quality of classroom instruction;
• Basing instruction on scientifically proven methods;
• Providing professional training for educators in reading instruction; and
• Supplying substantial resources to support the unprecedented initiative.

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