Grant Awards: Innovative Approaches to Literacy (84.215G)

A project to provide literacy education to 12 rural schools in southwestern Alaska.  A total of 441 children from birth through grade 12 will be served along with 48 teachers who will receive professional development. 

The project is focused on utilizing technology to provide distance-delivered math and ELA tutoring to students who have not met target benchmarks.  Additionally, summer book distribution will contain STEM-focused books.  An online library will be created to facilitate access to and use of the Alaska digital library.

Project focuses on Building Opportunities for Literacy and Life Development (BOLLD) which is a three-year project designed by the Benton County School District to support the “Tennessee Succeeds” and “Read to be Ready” state literacy initiative with an impact on local literacy proficiency and interest in STEM careers. 

The project is grounded by four goals: (1) Benton County children will be ready to read by age 5; (2)Benton County children in grades K-8 will be proficient in reading; (3)Benton County students in grades 9-12 will exhibit the reading skills necessary to be college and career ready; and (4)Benton County students in grades 6-12 will be exposed to STEM College and Career information.  Project objectives emphasize building staff, student, and stakeholder capacity for use of research-based balanced literacy practices; building educator self-efficacy; building family self-efficacy for home-based literacy activities; and increasing student interest in and motivation for STEM college and career pursuits and pathways.  The STEM focus will provide students access to video-based STEM career explorations and expanded STEM readings.

The Read to Succeed School-Family-Community literacy program is a project designed to a) increase K-12 student motivation and engagement in literacy learning, b) increase access to books by delivering free books (bound, audible and e-books) to children and families, and c) strengthen literacy development through high quality, research-based activities for 2,890 students and their families in a rural and low-performing school district.  

Specific approaches in this proposal include: development and implementation of K-12 motivational reading programs; distribution of free, student-chosen books to all 654 students at the Warm Springs K-8 Reservation school; development and implementation of culturally-specific family literacy programs; literacy training for school staff and student workers; and development of two summer literacy programs focused on literacy and STEM.

Project is designed to build local capacity to provide, improve, and expand literacy services for birth – grade 3 students in Colusa County, California.  

This project will promote literacy on two fronts: 1) in homes, through increased family engagement in literacy activities such as parent training, interactive book reading, book sharing routines; and 2) in schools and libraries, by improving literacy programming and book access, utilizing technology to improve literacy and expand access to educational choice, and expanding professional development opportunities for our early childhood educators.  The applicant plans to utilize the Footsteps2Brilliance® online application to improve literacy through distance learning technology that supplements the educational choice provided at each child’s rural school.

Proposes to expand supports for families as they learn to develop young readers, explicitly support struggling teachers as they use newly-learned literacy strategies, and fully establish engaging new literacy access points/contexts, especially for older students.  

The proposed project outcomes are to increase the number of books distributed and read in the classroom, home and community; and increase early language and literacy skills of young children with read-aloud activities and engaging apps.  

Additional students will “catch up” on their reading skills through Read 180 and System44 interventions, and all teachers will begin using a targeted set of literacy strategies across all grades.

Proposes to expand its use of highly-qualified specialized literacy personnel, expand its use of professional development and literacy coaches, implement a family literacy program, expand its schoolwide book distribution, and implement STEM/computer science instruction that builds literacy.  

The project goals are to increase the number of 4-year-old children who achieve significant gains in oral language skills by 6% each year; increase the number of 4th grade students who meet or exceed proficiency on the Oklahoma state reading assessment by 5% each year; increase the number of 8th grade students who meet or exceed proficiency on the state reading test by 5% each year; give students at least four free books each year; and increase the number of books per student in each school by five each year.

Aims to implement a high-quality program designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and youth from birth through Grade 12 in its high-need schools. 

It proposes to implement research-based curricula (e.g. Smart Talk, Little Bytes, Code.org, Science Center Outreach) and best practices to increase literacy with fidelity; enhance the math and science curriculum through the integration of computer science lesson plans and activities from Code.org; hire a program staff member to strengthen literacy development across academic content areas and increase collaboration with local public libraries; implement a comprehensive book (print and electronic) distribution program; and implement new initiatives to foster daily reading habits (Reading Buddies, summer reading programs, increased programming and membership at local public libraries).

Proposes to improve 3rd through 12th grade student achievement in reading and writing, with a special focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related literacy.  

This project will build a suite of web-based, free digital formative assessment tools to enhance the utility of CommonLit’s high-quality library of open educational resources.  CommonLit is used by millions of teachers and students in over 42,000 schools nationwide, and the free services created under this project will enable STEM, English language arts, and social studies teachers to use research-based best practices, especially related to formative assessment, in literacy instruction.

Will have a book distribution for children from birth to Grade 5, increasing the amount of high quality, engaging reading material in home, classroom, and school libraries.  It proposes to build students’ literacy skills, especially through professional development provided to adults (teachers, librarians, families) to support effective reading experiences with texts.  

This project supports students in achieving Texas’ English Language Arts Standards through science, technology, engineering, math and coding-focused projects, and focuses family engagement activities on critical aspects of book sharing, reading instruction, independent reading time, and interactive read aloud activities.

Proposes to enrich the home environment of young children with literacy resources and supports, increase students’ access to high-quality print and digital reading materials through book distributions, transform school libraries into 21st century media centers, and decrease educational disparities of racial and economic groups by 20%.  

The proposed project outcomes involve improving 4-year old children’s oral language skills, and 4th and 8th grade students’ English language arts assessment performance.

Proposes to increase the literacy skills of all students, particularly at-risk, low-income, minority English Learners and students with disabilities, to overall improve academic performance and create a campus culture and classroom climate that promotes technology integration, capacity building and literacy across all academic content areas.  

The project will also focus services to improve students’ early learning and oral language development.  Pre-K educators will receive training on multiple effective, research-based early learning literacy interventions and strategies for students to gain the foundation of literacy skills development.

Proposes to increase the oral and literacy skills of all students, particularly at-risk, low-income, minority, and English Learners to overall improve academic performance, and to create a campus culture and classroom climate that promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)/computer programming integration, capacity building, and literacy across all academic content areas.  

Activities include providing specific content instruction and instructional techniques, increasing access and range of quality print and electronic literacy materials, providing teacher training, and fostering strong parental engagement.

Proposes to provide book distribution; extended day tutoring; a drop-in program for parents of children aged 0 to 4; early childhood student immersion into hands-on reading.  

Additional training from two non-profit organizations will focus on removing poverty barriers and imbedding literacy, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and computer science cross-curricular efforts; and high-quality curriculum and resources.  

Proposed project outcomes are increased achievement of 4-year-olds on DIBELS literacy assessments, increased reading achievement of students on 4th and 8th grade standardized tests, a book distribution program for all students, and an improved book-to-student ratio.

Will provide iPad classroom sets, library activities, motivation techniques, book distribution, and student reading achievement through analysis of project components and student outcomes.  

The proposed project outcomes include 4 year-olds’ improvement on the Early Learning Quick Assessments for literacy, 90% of 8th graders scoring at least “proficient” on the reading component of the Oklahoma School Testing Program, an increase in book-to-student ratio, and each student receiving two free books annually.

Proposes to motivate students to read for school as well as enjoyment by providing access to up-to-date materials in libraries with trained staff, thereby improving the book-to-student ratio and increasing the skills of library aides to effectively work with children. 

This project will also use the current Parents and Children Together literacy activities to distribute carefully selected, high-quality, fiction and non-fiction science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related free books to students, reaching 100% of the district’s students, and increasing knowledge and skills to integrate STEM and literacy in authentic classroom activities for Pre-K through 8th grade teachers.

Proposes to develop and enhance effective school library programs, which include providing professional development for school librarians, book distributions including utilizing pediatricians to promote literacy readiness, and up-to-date materials to high-need schools.  

This project will provide early literacy services through community partnerships; provide high-quality books on a regular basis to children and adolescents from low-income communities to increase reading motivation, performance, and frequency; and integrate academic technology learning and professional development in the acquisition of digitized books to expand accessible resources to a greater number of students.

Will distribute books regularly, considering students’ choices; give parents access to trainings, resources, and free children’s books to implement home reading strategies; match student needs with three types of classrooms and intervention curricula; provide professional development that includes methods to teach Native American, special needs, or impoverished students; and place more than 1,200 books and electronic reading devices in the library to generate student interest.  

The proposed project outcomes are to improve literacy and language proficiency of Pre-K students, increase 4th and 8th grade student scores on the reading component of the state’s standardized test, and increase the book-to-student ratio.

Proposes to implement and evaluate the potential effectiveness of a professional development model designed to enhance secondary school teachers’ literacy instruction in science, technology, engineering and math  (STEM) to culturally and linguistically diverse students.  

The project will advance teaching and learning of literacy skills (reading and writing development), intellectualism, identity development and criticality/social justice, and will provide 12 professional development sessions each year to students, literacy coaches, and school principals.

Proposes to promote high-quality early literacy practices to prepare young children to read, improve students’ reading ability and motivation to read, and provide professional learning for teachers and media specialists.  

The proposed project outcomes are improved academic achievement; reading skills; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) content knowledge; parent engagement and awareness on promoting emergent and cognitive growth; teacher knowledge and pedagogy; community supports to address the literacy and decreased subgroup gaps.

Will create literacy-rich school and home environments through access to highly appealing reading materials on a wide variety of subjects, including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and in multiple formats along with intentional outreach and education of families.  

Teachers and library staff will facilitate student technology use through interactive and collaborative activities designed to increase student motivation and reading achievement.  The project will include significant professional development and collaborative activities to build educator capacity to support student reading and writing achievement and increase parental involvement.

Proposes to enhance adult learning (teachers, school leaders, and parents) to better prepare adults to help improve the literacy skills of children in Mastery schools and incoming to Mastery schools, to improve student achievement in literacy for its students in Grades K to 8, and to measure and show improvement on the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program’s Government Performance and Results Act measures.  

The project includes KIPP-Wheatley curriculum expansion, an Orton-Gillingham-based reading intervention after school and in the summer, parent engagement in literacy, classroom libraries, and book distribution.

Will implement a multi-tiered system of support in K–2 classrooms, which will provide tiered levels of differentiated instruction for all students, proven to increase accelerated and sustained reading achievement if implemented at an early age.  

The proposed project outcomes are to deliver extensive and sustained, embedded professional development by highly qualified personnel; partner with revitalized and expanded school libraries staffed by trained library teaching assistants; establish a collaborative infrastructure across grades and buildings; and provide book distributions, family literacy outreach and support of afterschool and summer literacy programming.