$8.4 million set to go towards bumping Arizona literacy rates

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Education is receiving an $8.4 million federal grant with the help of Read On Arizona, a statewide nonprofit that aims to raise Arizona’s third-grade reading levels from 36% to 72% within the next four years.

The grant is meant to improve the quality of early education programs and strengthen the system for families while focusing on building literacy blocks.

Arizona is one of 23 states to receive the $250 million Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five Systems-Building Grant from the Office of Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Arizona Department of Education submitted the organization for the grant.

Lori Masseur, director of early learning for Read On Arizona, said in a statement that getting the grant was a collaborative effort with other organizations like early childhood group First Things First.

“Partners identified critical elements, such as professional development for educators, regional family literacy hubs, fiscal mapping, and other systems-building strategies to improve the quality of early learning for Arizona’s youngest learners,” she said.

According to the Arizona Department of Education, other states that have seen literacy rates grow also saw recent funding increases in early childhood education programs.

According to the data tracker from the Center for the Future of Arizona, only 36% of Arizona third graders are reading proficiently with a goal of 72% by 2030.

Read On Arizona uses five strategies to try to increase reading levels: increasing literacy coaches, using evidence-based curriculum, reducing chronic absenteeism, supporting teachers and increasing access to quality early learning.

Earlier this month, Masseur said an increase in funding helps boost that evidence-based curriculum, which in turn helps increase the state’s overall literacy rates.

“All is not lost as long as we’re dedicated and committed to doing the hard work and scaling up those evidence-based practices,” she said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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