Nebraska Department of Education awards $55 million in federal scholarships
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Department of Education has received a $55 million federal grant over the next five years to help increase literacy rates across the state.
State Education Commissioner Brian Maher, who announced the grant Friday at a State Board of Education meeting in Nebraska, said it is the largest competitive grant the department has ever received. It is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant. Nebraska is one of 23 recipients nationwide.
Maher said he and the department are excited about the “huge opportunity” but said it also comes with “huge responsibility.”
“We can’t just spend $55 million over the next five years without ensuring positive outcomes for students,” Maher said.
State Board of Education Chairwoman Elizabeth Tegtmeier (left) and State Education Commissioner Brian Maher. March 8, 2024.
This grant program is designed to support state agencies implementing comprehensive literacy efforts from birth through 12th grade across the state.
“Literacy skills” include pre-literacy, reading and writing. Award recipients must use funds to support practices, strategies, and interventions that target identified reading gaps. The State Department said the measures must be evidence-based and highly effective, such as building phonemic awareness, decoding words and analyzing word parts.
The department said the grant will focus on a number of “proven strategies” such as:
Provide professional development. Improve family literacy. Provide high-quality teaching materials. Take advantage of tutoring and extended learning. Work to reduce chronic absenteeism.
This grant will complement existing national initiatives such as Nebraska Literacy Project The recently passed Legislative Bill 1284 allocates $6 million over three years to a reading improvement tutoring program and hires district coaches to train K-3 teachers on how to teach reading.
“We know money isn’t everything, and it certainly can’t solve all our problems,” Maher said. “But we do believe it can have a huge impact on the scope and depth of the work we do in Nebraska.”
Maher said the Nebraska Department of Education is also working with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the state district management group on targeted improvements in literacy and accountability.
Nebraska State Board of Education looking to improve third-grade English language arts test scores 62% of 2023 national assessment It will reach 75% by 2030.
Board member Lisa Frick let out a “wow” when Maher announced the grant, then thanked department staff for starting the process of “making the dream come true.”
Board member Elizabeth Tegtmeier and board president and vice president Deb Neary also thanked Maher and department staff for their leadership and taking literacy goals seriously.
“I want to make sure that the children of Nebraska are better readers tomorrow than they are today. That’s our goal,” Maher said. “If we can do that, we can reach 75 percent proficiency. There are no barriers to us except our imagination, our ability to plan, and our ability to execute our plans.
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