Newark Public Schools will receive a $14 million Striving Readers grant over five years to improve the literacy skills of struggling adolescent readers, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today.
Secretary Spellings joined First Lady Laura Bush for the announcement made at an event at Avon Avenue Elementary School in Newark, NJ.
"Reading is the foundation of all learning, a key factor in earning a high school diploma and a ticket to success in the 21st century," said Secretary Spellings.
Newark Public Schools will focus on students in grades 6-8 at schools with at least 75 percent of students on free and reduced price lunch and identified as in need of improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Newark Public Schools will partner with the National Urban Alliance and the New Jersey City University to improve literacy across the curriculum in middle and high schools.
Each program includes a rigorous evaluation conducted by independent researchers.
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