Carson City School District receives $1.4 million reading grant

The Carson City School District has received nearly $1.4 million to continue its Read By Grade Three program.

The Nevada Department of Education said Friday it would be providing $20.5 million in funding for the third phase of the program for the 2017-2018 school year, with Carson receiving $1,382,473 of it.

“Throughout Nevada we are seeing real evidence of more of our youngest students making progress toward reading at grade level thanks to the Read by Grade 3 program,” NDE Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero said in a press release. “This is so critical because before third grade, students are learning how to read. After third grade, students are reading to learn.”

The program, which was first implemented in 2016, aims to have all students reading at a third grade level by the third grade. Carson City Superintendent Richard Stokes said the grant money helps pay for teachers to stay after school to help teach students in need as well as provide the funds for additional staff in the classroom during the school day to help.

“That particular aspect of the grant lets us have smaller groups of students have more access to adults trained in reading,” Stokes said. “...With the extra funds schools are able to provide extra practice and support for students who need those extra resources to improve their reading.”

For the students, a program like this is important because it teaches a skill that will only grow in necessity as they age.

“Being able to read well will assist any person in their future studies and every day activities,” Stokes said. “So we want our students to have access to all the opportunities they are interested in after their formal K-12 education and being able to ready is one tool we want them to be able to use with confidence and success.

“Not all kids are able to learn how to read on the same level or time and in all cases the more you read the better you get at it especially because so much of today’s world is in print or text so for students to read well is a tremendous advantage... This is a great benefit and we are excited to be able to offer additional support to our students.”

School districts and total funding received: Carson City School District, $1,382,473.14; Churchill County School District, $187,255.66; Clark County School District, $11,924,607.95; Doral Academy of Nevada, $175,068.60; Douglas County School District, $655,182.08; Elko County School District, $653,090.05; Explore Knowledge Academy, $120,706.61; Honors Academy of Literature, $108,951.68; Humboldt County School District, $776,372.13; Lyon County School District, $671,825.76; Mater Academy of Nevada, $111,462.74; Esmeralda County School District, $33,053.83; Lander County School District, $179,993.34; Lincoln County School District, $204,177.42; Mineral County School District, $84,247.94; Nye County School District, $608,061.38; Pershing County School District, $183,947.25; Somerset Academy of Las Vegas, $204,776.02; Washoe County School District, $1,635,283.36; White Pine County School District, $599,463.05.