YOUNGSTOWN Schools will get literacy grant

Schools selected have high poverty and low achievement.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A $2.7 million grant means youngsters in four of the city's elementary schools will have the chance to benefit from a structured, phonics-based literacy program that focuses on five specific reading areas.
The $915,000 per-year federal Reading First grant is administered through the state and renewable for up to two additional years. Officials learned the district had been selected earlier this summer.
"We're very excited," said Deborah Hagg, the district's administrative specialist for literacy and intensive English. "It's great news for us."
What it means
The grant, focused on kindergartners through third-graders, means each of four targeted schools -- Cleveland, North, Sheridan and Williamson elementary schools -- will now have a literacy facilitator who will offer support and expertise to teachers.
"Literacy affects every other content area that a child has to function in," Hagg said. "It will affect all other social interactions. It will affect families.
"A child who can't read is not going to be able to function in math or social studies and everything they do from here on out."
Levels
The schools selected have the district's highest poverty and lowest achievement levels, Hagg added.
If educators are successful with these schools, the district may be able to apply for additional funds to help other schools.
The grant also will fund supplies and materials to teachers as well as a resource manager to help teachers find what they need and a data manager to analyze student achievement.
Outreach effort
Hagg said another grant component will be used to reach out to families and encourage reading at home and familiarize parents with the new curriculum.
"I don't think people realize the simple things you need to do at home and every day in their daily functions to show kids that this is paramount," Hagg said.
The new program places an emphasis on assessment, she said, and students will be assessed regularly so educators can tailor programs to their needs.
The five specific target areas are phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency.
Research at the federal level shows that a structured, systematic approach to reading that emphasizes phonics "really makes the difference," Hagg said.
viviano@vindy.com