Massachusetts has secured a roughly $38 million federal literacy grant, and the Healey administration says the funding jolt will amplify the governor’s initiative to tackle reading challenges among young students.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education plans to use the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant, totaling $38.4 million over five years, to “expand evidence-based and culturally and linguistically sustaining practices for English language arts and literacy in grades pre-K through 12,” Gov. Maura Healey’s office said Monday.
The money will be distributed through grants to districts and schools, growing the reach of previous grants backed by federal dollars.
“In Massachusetts, we are prioritizing literacy because of the simple, yet profound reality that establishing literacy skills early is not only foundational to the remainder of a students’ education, it becomes a foundational marker for the remainder of their life,” Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said in a statement. “With Literacy Launch and this additional funding for literacy grants, we are providing districts with tools and resources to see to it that all students learn to read and read well.”
The fiscal 2025 budget invested $20 million into Literacy Launch, which seeks to boost access to higher-quality literacy materials in classrooms and provide support for educators.
Massachusetts also received a federal grant of $3.9 million to improve standardized tests, Healey’s office said. The money will help cover professional development for science educators and support the creation of “curriculum-embedded science performance tasks” for grades K-8, which comes as DESE has piloted new science and technology/engineering MCAS tests.
“Statewide assessments are an important measure of student achievement and help us ensure students across Massachusetts are receiving the high-quality education they deserve,” Healey said. “This federal funding will enable high-quality instruction and on-going assessments in the critical science and technology STEM fields.”
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