FCS Awarded READ Funds for Innovative Literacy Program
Fowlerville Community Schools is one of thirty-nine school districts in Michigan that has been awarded a grant for innovation in teaching literacy. The grant, in the amount of $187,000 is part of the $6.7M in funds being awarded by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). In total, 115 applications were received, with thirty-nine districts being selected for a grant.
The funding was made possible by the State School Aid Act for fiscal year 2025, in which the legislature designated $10M in Section 35n funds for MDE to provide startup money to eligible school districts for innovative literacy initiatives that could be scaled by other districts statewide and improve student outcomes in literacy, with incentive money available to districts whose innovations would have the greatest impact.
Fowlerville Community Schools will use the 35n Reading Excellence and Advancing District (READ) Innovation Grant to decrease learning loss by focusing on orthographic mapping, a Science of Reading practice that strengthens students’ ability to connect sounds to letters and store words for fluent reading. The district will place a K–5 Academic Interventionist on special assignment to lead job-embedded professional development, model orthographic mapping routines in classrooms, and co-teach small-group instruction during Tier 1 blocks. This role will serve as a bridge between direct student intervention and instructional improvement.
To ensure success, the district will implement ongoing fidelity checks and monitor student growth throughout the initiative. These measures will provide evidence of the program’s effectiveness as the district competes for round two of the READ Innovation funding, demonstrating that Fowlerville’s approach can accelerate learning to read and serve as a model for other districts.
“We are incredibly honored to receive this literacy grant, which will allow us to add an Interventionalist and further strengthen the important literacy initiatives already underway in our district,” notes Matt Stuard, Superintendent. “I am incredibly proud of our staff for their commitment to ensuring every child has the tools to succeed as a reader. Their determination to see our literacy rates continue to grow is inspiring, and this grant provides the resources to build on the progress already being made,” Stuard also noted.
Fowlerville Community Schools are committed to providing a quality educational experience for all students in a safe, orderly, healthy and nurturing environment. The district’s principles are educational excellence, effective leadership, personal integrity, mutual respect and continuous improvement through staff, student and community involvement.
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