The Contra Costa County Office of Education has been awarded a grant of $5 million over three years to build school capacity to support students struggling with reading, disabilities or dyslexia, Superintendent Lynn Mackey announced.
The county was one of seven statewide to receive the grant from the California Department of Education and will use the money in partnership with the Oakley Union Elementary School District.
“We are thrilled to be recipients of such an important grant that will allow us to develop and design strategies for literacy learning for all students, and also support our most vulnerable and challenged students,” Mackey said in a statement. “This type of foundational work is crucial for the lifelong success of all students.”
The Oakley district was selected based in its local control and accountability plan goals, student enrollment and demographics, and academic performance data.
The funds will also develop district and pilot site literacy plans and implement evidence-based strategies through improvement cycles, increasing family and community engagement in literacy.
CCCOE’s project “Every Child Reads” focuses on literacy through the use of evidence-based practices, activities and interventions, including pre-literacy skills, reading and writing.
Grantees are directed to use the funds to build expertise in strategies addressing statewide literacy priorities identified in the state’s comprehensive literacy plan, implementing the strategies through a three-year, small-scale pilot with a local school.