FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 30, 2003

New Funds Will Continue New York's Efforts to Boost Early Literacy and Train Teachers

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that nearly $130 million in funding has been secured from the U.S. Department of Education through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The funds will be used for New York's "Reading First" program and will be provided to schools across the State to assist efforts to improve early literacy in grades K-3, as well as related professional development in high-need districts.

"We are committed to helping every child in New York develop the strong reading skills they need to secure a first class education and a bright future,"Governor Pataki said. "Reading is the foundation of all learning and this vital support will help parents, teachers and local communities break down the barriers to literacy for young children throughout New York."

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige said, "President Bush believes that we can give every child the reading skills they need. That's why his No Child Left Behind Act makes our nation's greatest-ever commitment to reading instruction for every child. By designing instruction around scientific evidence, New York and other states will help ensure that all children learn to read by the end of the third grade."

Brian Jones, General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education said, "Reading is undeniably critical to success in today's society. The results of the most recent national test show that just one-third of children in fourth, eighth and twelfth grades are proficient readers. This is unacceptable to anyone concerned about the future of our nation."

New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, "New York raised standards in the mid-nineties in response to a public demand that student achievement had to improve. Since then we've had good success. National and state reading test results in fourth grade show more students are reaching the standards, and minority students have improved the most. Despite this progress, we still have far to go. This Reading First grant is something we vitally need, because it will go directly to the students who require extra help in learning to read."

Under the "Reading First" grant, 118 school districts and at least 17 charter schools are eligible for funding under State criteria. Eligible schools include those identified as "School Improvement" schools under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools with the highest number of children in poverty, and schools with the highest rate of poverty. These funds will provide the highest needs and lowest performing districts with almost $500 million over the next six years to implement successful programs and make certain that New York's most disadvantaged students have every opportunity to meet education standards.

"Reading First" grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to high-need school districts to support the lowest performing schools in their efforts to ensure that all students can read at grade level no later than third grade. The grants will be used to:

• Provide professional development targeted to recognizing and removing barriers to reading;
• Help schools choose appropriate assessments, implement scientifically-proven literacy programs and learning strategies;
• Provide tutoring services to low-performing students;
• Help schools and communities improve family literacy; and
• Support early literacy in students and families where English is not their native language.

The "Reading First" grant announced today by the Governor will build on the successful development of model K-3 literacy programs and teacher training programs under the "Reading First, Reading for Results program."

In July, 2001 Governor Pataki announced $81.8 million for the "Reading for Results" program and these monies funded statewide literacy program development. Grant funds also assisted the implementation of new K-3 core literacy curricula and teacher training in 27 school districts and 251 school buildings, primarily in New York City.

Both "Reading First" and "Reading for Results" are products of the Governor's Statewide Reading and Literacy Partnership, which was formed in 1999 to support early literacy efforts. "Reading First" programs will build on the success of "Reading for Results" efforts to create a comprehensive early literacy effort focused on high-need, low-performing students in grades k-3 and will work in concert with the State's higher learning standards.

Over the next six years, New York is eligible to receive a total of more than $460 million in federal Reading First funds under the No Child Left Behind Act. The funds will support literacy efforts, subject to successful state implementation and Congressional appropriation.

Specified activities to be funded through the Governor's Statewide Literacy and Reading Task Force's "Reading First" program include extensive professional development in research-based strategies to improve reading skills, participation in on-line reading modules for students and teachers; provision of core curriculum materials to students that are scientifically-based in current research on effective instruction; additional tutoring for children who need assistance; expansion of family literacy activities; and the provision of specific literacy services to eligible students in non-public schools.

The Governor's Statewide Reading and Literacy Partnership includes Governor Pataki, Education Commissioner Richard Mills, legislative Education Committee Chairs and ranking minority members, local education agencies, community based organizations, parents, teachers, libraries, statewide education organizations, teacher unions and higher education institutions. The State will build on the successful partnerships developed between parents, teachers, schools, community-based organizations, libraries, and family literacy and early childhood development programs to bring tutoring and literacy to families.

As a result of Governor Pataki's strong leadership, New York has compiled an impressive list of educational accomplishments during the past nine years. Particularly noteworthy accomplishments during this period include:

• Historic reforms in the governance of the New York City school system;
• Landmark school safety legislation that establishes the nation's most comprehensive plan to ensure the safety and well-being of our students;
• The innovative Teachers of Tomorrow program that has resulted in the recruitment, training and retention of more than 30,000 teachers in classrooms across the State; and
• The development of 44 charter schools, providing more than 16,000 students and their families with a wide choice of innovative educational programs.

During this same time period, State aid to schools statewide has increased by $4.6 billion or 50 percent since 1995. In fact, in the period directly preceding September 11th, New York provided three consecutive years of record-breaking school aid increases, with schools receiving nearly $2.7 billion in additional aid between 1998-99 and 2000-01. These additional State funds, coupled with local taxpayer support, raised New York's school spending to the highest in the nation -- more than $11,400 per pupil in 2001-02 compared to the national average of nearly $7,900. ###

---