For those InsiderAdvantage readers with children, the last twelve months have probably been challenging. Schools have been closed and then opened, sometimes, and then closed again, and open again. Parents have had to find ways to keep their children learning, studying their school lessons at home and keep them on track.
Sadly, not every kid will have stayed on track the last year. Less than half the children in Georgia are proficient or advanced readers by the time they begin fourth grade – and that was before the pandemic.
Thanks to the Literacy for Learning, Living and Leading in Georgia (L4GA) program, 19 school districts across the state will be getting a boost to the tune of nearly $15 million to advance their efforts.
“The L4GA grant has proven successful for improved literacy in the classroom and I look forward to seeing the achievement of these 19 school districts,” Governor Brian Kemp said. “This community-based program allows the student to grow and thrive in the classroom with student-centric education.”
The program stems from a $180 million federal grant given in 2019. Ninety-five percent of that funding is being competitively awarded to local districts and their community partners. The awards take into account poverty, student achievement, and whether a school has already been identified as needing assistance from the Department of Education’s School Improvement Team. More than 50 school districts have now received funding through the grant and the results so far have showed significant gains in English Language Arts and grade-level reading proficiency. Research has shown that proficiency of grade-level reading is a “strong predictor of future academic success” so increasing this percentage of students is a priority across the State of Georgia.
The initiative is a robust partnership between a number of agencies at the state and local level all working with the Georgia Department of Education: the Office of the Governor, Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, Department of Early Care and Learning, Georgia Public Library Service, Department of Public Health, the University System of Georgia, Georgia’s Technical College System, local chambers of commerce, local county commissions, and members of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign Cabinet.
“We know that when an entire community invests in students’ literacy achievement, we see sustained and substantial improvement,” Superintendent Woods said. “L4GA funds empower communities to do just that – to come together to ensure all students have the reading skills they need to fuel future learning. I congratulate our new awardees and look forward to supporting their success.”
