Nearly $400,000 in state money is being used by the Greenfield School Department and three schools in Erving School Union 28 to improve literacy outcomes among students.
Stephen Sullivan, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning with the Greenfield School Department, explained $95,100 in Partnership for Reading Success — Massachusetts (PRISM) II grant money is slated to support the district’s preschoolers.
“The idea is it will start with our youngest learners to build that strong foundation,” he said.
Sullivan said the money will be used “in a variety of ways,” including to buy curriculum materials and to provide stipends to instructors of after-school reading programs.
Lindsay Rodriguez, director of curriculum and instruction for Erving School Union 28, explained that two PRISM grants will benefit 21 classrooms across Swift River, Erving Elementary and Leverett Elementary schools. The money — made up of a $220,160 PRISM II grant and a $83,022 PRISM III grant — is being put toward professional development for teachers, covering half the cost of updating curriculum, and hiring the third-party literacy consultant TNTP to support program implementation.
“It’s a super-awesome opportunity for our rural school district, so I’m excited,” Rodriguez said.
The funding is part of a total $12.6 million that was awarded to school districts and educational collaboratives across the state in two funding rounds in August. The PRISM III grants help school districts implement improvements in English language arts and literacy instruction for grades four through 12 through the evaluation, selection and implementation of high-quality instructional materials, while the PRISM II grants focus on education in grades three and under.
“Massachusetts has the best education system in the country, but we know more needs to be done to ensure all of our students have the tools they need to be lifelong readers and learners,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “Today’s grant awards are a key piece of our administration’s commitment to making sure our school districts have the resources and support they need to improve literacy among their students.”
