FOR RELEASE:
September 1, 2006 |
Contact: Jo Ann Webb or Elaine Quesinberry
(202) 401-1576
|
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of $101,687,216 in Early Reading First grants to 32 recipients in 25 states to improve the language and early literacy skills of young children.
"We want to make sure children enter elementary school ready to learn how to read," Spellings said. "Early Reading First uses research-based strategies to introduce young children to books and concepts like letters, sounds and vocabulary. These first years of life are critical for a child's development, and Early Reading First helps ensure children start life on the right track."
Early Reading First is President Bush's initiative to improve the school readiness of our nation's young children, especially those from low-income families, by transforming early childhood education programs into centers of educational excellence. It builds upon the President's Good Start, Grow Smart initiative to improve early childhood education and strengthen early learning for young children. These grant funds are used to improve the use of instructional materials and teaching strategies through scientifically proven practices.
Early Reading First programs focus on language, cognition and early reading so that young children enter kindergarten with the oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness and knowledge of the alphabet necessary to begin to learn how to read.
A complete list of the grantees follows:
Alabama
| Gadsden City Board of Education | $1.8 million |
California
| Tehama County Department of Education | $2.2 million |
Colorado
| Clayton College | $3.5 million |
Connecticut
| Bridgeport Public Schools | $2.8 million |
District of Columbia
| Bridges Public Charter School | $2.5 million |
Florida
| Nova Southeastern University | $1.9 million |
Georgia
| Talbot County Board of Education | $2.8 million |
| United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, Smart Start Georgia | $4.4 million |
Illinois
| The University of Illinois at Chicago | $2.7 million |
| Illinois Action for Children | $3.2 million |
| Hull House Association | $3.1 million |
Kansas
| Topeka Public Schools | $3.3 million |
Maine
| Waldo County Preschool & Family Services | $3.1 million |
Maryland
| Johns Hopkins University | $4.1 million |
Massachusetts
| Little Sprouts Child Enrichment Centers | $3.4 million |
Michigan
| Western Michigan University | $3.4 million |
| Northwest Michigan Human Services Agency | $3.1 million |
Minnesota
| Duluth Public Schools | $4.4 million |
| Saint Paul Public Schools | $3.8 million |
Missouri
| Boone Early Childhood Partners | $2.7 million |
| St. Louis Board of Education | $4.2 million |
Ohio
| Lorain City Schools | $3.2 million |
Oklahoma
| Atoka Choctaw Head Start Center | $2.5 million |
Pennsylvania
| Heritage Health Foundation Inc. | $1.8 million |
| Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 | $3 million |
Rhode Island
| The Providence Plan | $3.6 million |
South Carolina
| Georgetown County United Way Inc. | $2.6 million |
Tennessee
| Knox County Schools | $1.4 million |
Texas
| South San Antonio Independent School District | $4.5 million |
Utah
| Rural Utah Child Development | $3.9 million |
Virginia
| Virginia Commonwealth University | $4.4 million |
Wisconsin
| Milwaukee Public Schools | $4.1 million |
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