The Kansas State Department of Education announced Tuesday, June 12, that eight literacy projects from across the state will be funded through grants from the Literacy Network of Kansas (LiNK), a project of the U.S. Department of Education’s Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy program.

The eight grantees were selected from a competitive application process, and each one will receive more than $3.2 million for literacy support during a three-year period.

Kansas received a $27 million federal grant – one of the largest competitive grants ever received by KSDE – in October 2017. The agency applied for the federal grant in July 2017 with the assistance of the KU Center on Research and Learning.

KSDE invited districts/consortia meeting specific criteria to apply for funds from the grant. Districts had to serve at least 5,000 students in order to apply individually. Districts that serve fewer than 5,000 students could apply as part of a consortium.

The names of the four individual districts and the four consortia receiving grants were announced at the Kansas State Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, June 12.

The eight LiNK projects will help advance literacy skills of children from birth through 12th grade, helping them to become successful readers and writers.

The eight grantees, which represent a total of 32 Kansas school districts and 88,000 children, are:
•    Individual: Olathe Unified School District (USD) 233
•    Individual: Manhattan-Ogden USD 383
•    Individual: Garden City USD 457
•    Individual: Dodge City USD 443
•    Consortium: Ulysses USD 214; Deerfield USD 216; Ness City USD 303; Montezuma USD 371; Sublette USD 374; Stanton County USD 452; Copeland USD 476; Kismet-Plains USD 483; Syracuse USD 494; and Satanta USD 507.
•    Consortium: Turner USD 202; Pittsburg USD 250; Iola USD 257; Garnett USD 365; Osawatomie USD 367; Santa Fe Trail USD 434; and Labette County USD 506.
•    Consortium: Leavenworth USD 453 and Atchison USD 409.
•    Consortium: Cherokee USD 247; Central Heights USD 288; Woodson USD 366; Riverton USD 404; Hiawatha USD 415; South Brown County USD 430; Cherryvale USD 447; Neodesha USD 461; and Columbus USD 493.

Each grantee developed a plan that will support students and their families in a variety of ways, based upon a study of local needs.

Throughout the three-year grant cycle, a network of resources for educators and families will be developed for future use. These resources will impact literacy at state, regional and community levels, as well as providing professional learning opportunities for families and teachers.

By helping meet the literacy needs of the state’s students, LiNK will help schools meet the Kansas State Board of Education’s vision for education – Kansas leads the world in the success of each student.