🔒CT awarded $10 million federal grant to improve K-3 literacy

Connecticut’s efforts to improve K-3 literacy are getting a boost through a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Gov. Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker announced the competitive award in a press release this week.

The money comes through the federal Education Innovation and Research program and will support the CT Research and Innovation in Literacy Intervention project, a five-year effort to bring small group reading intervention to more elementary schools in the state. UConn’s Neag School of Education, Fordham University and the nonprofit HILL for Literacy are also participating.

“We are pleased to have secured this competitive grant, which builds upon the significant investments Connecticut has made to strengthen literacy instruction and support our educators,” Russell-Tucker said.

It’s the latest in a string of recent investments Connecticut has made in improving literacy outcomes, which were set in motion by the landmark Right to Read law in 2021.

That law mandated that districts switch to curricula aligned with the science of reading and changed how teachers screen for literacy delays. School leaders from a range of districts have spoken positively about the changes, but teacher training remains a major bottleneck — one the $10 million grant aims to help address.

The money will train teachers at participating schools on Enhanced Core Reading Instruction, in which small groups of students hone key early literacy skills like identifying sounds and forming them into words.

According to a spokesperson with the Connecticut State Department of Education, “The approach provides teachers with clear, structured routines for modeling these skills, giving students opportunities to practice, and providing immediate feedback to students to assist in their learning.”

As the name implies, there is a research component, as well. The program will study what happens when teachers pair Enhanced Core Reading Instruction with positive behavioral supports — that is, explicitly teaching certain behaviors and giving affirmation when students demonstrate them. It will also examine how Enhanced Core Reading Instruction compares to “typical small-group reading intervention” and what is needed to scale it effectively across schools.

For now, the state’s focus remains squarely on the K-3 age group. One reason for that: Detecting and addressing reading delays is much easier at younger ages. By the time a child reaches fourth grade, it becomes exponentially harder to catch up, and delayed literacy begins to have a bigger impact on academic performance overall.

State leaders have expressed the hope that, by catching reading delays earlier, schools can keep more kids in general education settings and out of — often costly and sometimes isolating — special education programs.

According to the press release, Connecticut has spent about $41 million in recent years on K-3 literacy. This latest grant boosts that by about 25%.

There is interest in the state to expand literacy support for students in grades 4-9, as well. A bill to do so drew positive feedback from advocates and education leaders, but the final product scaled the effort back substantially amid concerns about capacity and cost.