New York University will be an official university partner with Ohio State University on a $46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve literacy among struggling first-grade students. The $46 million grant, part of a $650 grant initiative known as Investing in Innovation, or i3, was announced last week by the Department of Education.
New York University will be an official university partner with Ohio State University on a $46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve literacy among struggling first-grade students. The $46 million grant, part of a $650 million grant initiative known as Investing in Innovation, or i3, was announced last week by the Department of Education.
The grant project, “Reading Recovery: Scaling Up What Works,” will fund intensive, year-long training for teachers who will provide one-on-one literacy instruction for first graders. The intervention enables low-performing students to make accelerated progress and reach average levels in reading and writing in just 12-20 weeks.
Reading Recovery has over 20 years of experience working with struggling readers across the U.S., and is the only early reading intervention to receive high marks across four domains by the U.S. Department of Education’s “What Works Clearinghouse.” Reading Recovery ranks number one in general reading achievement.
“I’m thrilled that NYU will be a partner with OSU on such an exciting and far-reaching grant to scale up Reading Recovery,” said Mary Brabeck, dean of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. “This grant recognizes the School’s commitment to pursuing evidence-based research to improve educational outcomes for all children.”
The Reading Recovery Project at NYU, housed within NYU Steinhardt, works with a consortium of school districts in New York City, New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to train teachers and teacher leaders in the intervention. Approximately 10,226 children have been served by the 1,242 Reading Recovery teachers trained in NYU affiliated sites since the project began in 1989.
“This award represents very significant recognition of the scale and effectiveness of Reading Recovery at the national level,” said Ann Ballantyne, trainer and director of Reading Recovery at NYU. “For us at NYU Steinhardt, it represents a wonderful opportunity to build on the 22-year history of the project and expand the services we provide to the most at-risk learners.”
NYU is one of 15 university partners who will collaborate with OSU to scale up Reading Recovery. NYU will receive $2.6 million over five years to provide training and certification for up to 50 teachers in eligible, low-achieving schools each year. The grant will also fund a year of academic and professional training for a teacher-leader who will open a new Reading Recovery site in a rural area that does not currently have access to the program. In addition to training, NYU's Reading Recovery program will provide ongoing support and professional development for teachers and teacher leaders in scale-up schools.