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The school district and a charter school are recipients of state grants designed to improve literacy in elementary school students.
Both grants were from the state Department of Education’s Funding for Optimal Comprehensive Universal Screeners, or FOCUS, program, through which $2.3 million was awarded statewide.
The district received $20,040, while Central Jersey College Prep Charter School received $2,900.
The funding supports high-quality literacy-screening assessments that meet the criteria established by the Department, according to a press release about the grant. The funding can also be used to provide related professional development for teachers and student support.
The school district will use its grant to “strengthen early literacy instruction by providing professional development for K–3 teachers, interventionists, and literacy coaches,” Giselle Perez, the Supervisor of Language Arts Literacy and Intervention (K-5), said in an email.
“The training will focus on implementing the i-Ready Literacy Tasks—evidence-based, one-on-one screening tools that help identify students at risk for reading difficulties and dyslexia,” she said in the email. “The grant will fund expert-led training on how to administer, score, and use the data to inform instruction. The goal is to build district-wide capacity to deliver targeted, small-group literacy interventions and ensure every student receives the support they need to become a strong reader.”
CJCP will use its grant to “support the implementation of early dyslexia screening for students,” Fiona Daubon, the school’s Assistant School Business Administrator,” said in an email.
“This initiative is part of our broader commitment to early identification and intervention, ensuring that students with potential reading challenges receive timely support that sets them on a path to academic success,” she said in the email.”
Districts serving grades K-3 were eligible to apply, and all 277 school districts and charter schools that applied will receive funding, with award amounts based on student enrollment, according to the released.
The state DOE also announced $1.4 million awarded to 19 school districts and charger schools for the Building Responsive Instruction through Data Guided Evaluation, or BRIDGE grants. The competitive grant will provide support for schools in the use of screening data to implement evidence-based literacy instruction in K-3 classrooms.
“The BRIDGE and FOCUS grants will strengthen New Jersey’s status as one of the best public education systems in the nation,” Governor Phil Murphy said in the release. “Through providing millions of dollars for hundreds of school districts and charter schools to improve their literacy education, we will ensure that our young learners are confident readers capable of thriving academically and becoming thoughtful, informed citizens.’ By bolstering our efforts to improve literacy rates statewide, these grants will further our Administration’s goal of making New Jersey the best state in the country to raise a child.”
“These grants are an integral component of our early literacy initiative designed to give New Jersey schools the tools that will help implement the changes necessary to improve literacy skills among our youngest students,” Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said in the release. “Literacy is a foundational skill that is needed for learning in all other subjects. Through this initiative we are providing schools the support they need, so every child begins their education fully prepared to become lifelong readers and successful learners.”
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