Alaska awarded $50 million literacy grant

On October 28, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) announced that Alaska had been awarded a $50 million Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant, awarded during a year with the largest number of applications in the program’s history, will provide $10 million annually over five years to support literacy initiatives across Alaska.

Alaska’s application received high praise from a panel of literacy experts for its thoroughness and strategic vision. Improving public education has been a priority of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s administration, with the Governor introducing the Alaska Reads Act in 2019 to reform Alaska’s literacy instruction based on evidence-based best practices known collectively as the Science of Reading. The Alaska Reads Act passed the Alaska Legislature with bi-partisan support in 2022, and Alaska is already experiencing improvements in student achievement.

The funding will boost efforts to provide educators with the resources and training to further implement evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with the Science of Reading. These initiatives will support literacy improvements for students from birth through grade 12, with a focus on schools serving those most in need, including rural communities, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

“Every Alaskan student is capable of learning how to read – and by equipping our educators with the tools to teach the Science of Reading and intervening early to provide additional support for students who need it, we can achieve our goal of having all students reading at grade level by the end of third grade,” said Governor Dunleavy.

DEED Commissioner Deena Bishop added, "This competitive grant fuels our mission for every student to read well by third grade. Over the next five years it will add value by providing additional resources to support students and educators in Alaska’s schools and communities.”