Missouri education system receives $18 million literacy development grant

Posted on 17 September 2020 at 10:09am

COLUMBIA- The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) was one of 11 states to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for its Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) program.

The $18 million grant will be distributed over five years, allowing the state to advance literacy skills for children from birth through Grade 12.

“Extensive research suggests that reading by Grade 3 is critical to a child’s success in school and life beyond. Improving literacy is central to our aim of improving lives through education,” Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said in a news release.

The goal of the project is to support educators’ working knowledge of evidence-based literacy strategies to effectively teach reading and writing to all students.

This includes providing professional development to pre-service teachers in institutions of higher education, early childhood education teachers and K-12 educators to enable them to provide effective instruction.

This grant will additionally support districts with developing evidenced-based literacy plans to implement in their local schools and provide support for families.