School Districts Awarded Grant to Advance Statewide Literacy Initiative
Pierre, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Education awarded 28 school districts the Elevating Literacy Across South Dakota (ELA-SD) Grant.
The ELA-SD Grant is funded from the federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant, awarded to the department last year. The ELA-SD grants provide resources to assist school districts in the effective implementation of the state’s comprehensive literacy plan, known as the South Dakota Literacy Framework. This framework is deeply rooted in the robust evidence that supports the Science of Reading (SoR) approach. Through high-quality implementation, ELA-SD will enhance literacy outcomes for all South Dakota students and address persistent achievement gaps.
“The Science of Reading is a focal point of South Dakota’s initiative to move literacy forward,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves. “It deepens our understanding of how the brain learns to read, the necessary skills readers must develop to become proficient readers, and the appropriate methods teachers must use to effectively teach our students the gateway skill of learning to read.”
The purpose of the ELA-SD grants is to create a comprehensive literacy program to advance literacy skills, including pre-literacy skills, reading, and writing, for children from birth through grade 12, with an emphasis on disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities. This includes strengthening foundational reading instruction – especially phonics - particularly in the early grades, to ensure all students build the skills necessary for lifelong literacy success.
The following school districts have been awarded the ELA-SD grant:
- Aberdeen;
- Belle Fourche;
- Bennett County;
- Chamberlain;
- Clark;
- Colome;
- Eagle Butte;
- Edgemont;
- Flandreau;
- Henry;
- Hot Springs;
- Huron;
- Iroquois;
- Leola;
- Marion;
- Oglala Lakota County (OLC);
- Rapid City Area;
- Sioux Falls;
- Sisseton;
- Summit;
- Todd County;
- Tripp Delmont;
- Wagner Community;
- Waverly;
- White Lake;
- Willow Lake;
- Wilmot; and
- Woonsocket.
To learn more about the ELA-SD Grant and the literacy initiative in South Dakota, visit the Moving Literacy Forward in South Dakota webpage at www.doe.sd.gov/literacy/.