FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has received a five-year, nearly $55 million Comprehensive Literacy Development (CLSD) grant from the U.S. Department of Education .

According to the press release, the funding will be used to advance literacy skills from preschool through 12th grade. The focus will be on disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English language learners and children with disabilities.

“This is the largest federal CLSD grant Kentucky has ever received,” Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said in a news release. “Receiving this grant is an honor, not only because there was the largest number of applicants in the history of the program, but also because a panel of literacy experts rated our application highly. We are excited about the opportunities this grant will provide to advance literacy skills in Kentucky.

Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy 2025 (KyCL 25), formerly known as the CLSD Discretionary Grant Program, will provide competitive funding to districts to strengthen high-quality instructional resources (HQIR) and curriculum-based professional learning for all the levels.

KyCL 25 will focus on increasing student literacy outcomes through four project objectives:

• Instructional staff will use evidence-based literacy HQIRs to provide consistent and aligned instruction to all students.
• Educational staff will use evidence-based literacy HQIRs to help struggling readers narrow the achievement gap for target populations in a cycle of continuous improvement.
• Educational staff will be engaged in sustained, aligned, job-integrated, high-quality professional learning that is curriculum-based and focused on a literacy HQIR.
• Schools will increase family engagement in their students’ literacy development and awareness of resources to facilitate supplemental literacy instruction at home.

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