The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) has been awarded two competitive Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen literacy instruction and improve outcomes for all students, especially those in rural communities.
The funding totals nearly $25 million over five years.
The two awards are part of $256 million in EIR funding announced nationwide to support evidence-based approaches that improve student achievement.
Arkansas is the only state nationwide receiving multiple awards.
“Early literacy intervention makes all the difference, and through the LEARNS Act, literacy coaches, and high-impact tutoring, we’re building strong reading foundations from the start,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a press release.
Rural Literacy Study: Testing Evidence-Based High-Impact Tutoring at Scale
Arkansas has been awarded nearly $15 million to evaluate high-impact tutoring initiatives at rural schools.
The project will be implemented in partnership with Air Reading of San Mateo, California, and will include an independent evaluation conducted by Stanford University to assess impact and scalability.
Foundational Reading Study
A second award, totaling nearly $10 million, will study a foundational reading program in partnership with the University of Florida Literacy Institute.
Together, the grants build on Arkansas’ recent investments to strengthen literacy statewide through the LEARNS Act, including:
- Statewide high-impact tutoring grants, now in their third year of implementation
- Increased literacy tutoring support of up to $1,500 for K–3 students who need additional assistance
- Deployment of literacy coaches in schools identified with D or F ratings
- Implementation of a fourth-grade promotion policy to ensure students are proficient readers before advancing
These efforts have resulted in a number of Arkansas Literacy Tutoring Grants to support families in providing reading instruction to struggling students.
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