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The U.S. Department of Education has awarded 33 three-year grants under the Early Reading First Program, which will support local efforts to enhance the oral language, cognitive, and early reading skills of preschool-age children, especially those from low-income families. The program provides support to make the identified preschool programs centers of excellence through strategies, materials, and professional development that are grounded in scientifically based reading research. Abstracts of each of the awarded projects can be found on ED's Web site [PDF].
For FY 2005, Congress appropriated $104,160,000 for the Early Reading First Program. This is an increase from the FY 2004 appropriated amount of $94,439,000. Five hundred ninety-four (594) eligible pre-applications were received and reviewed by panels consisting of expert reviewers in accordance with the Department of Education's regulations. Of the eligible group 126 were invited to submit full applications. The Department received 123 full applications that were reviewed by experts.
The Early Reading First program is a competitive grant initiative that will enhance reading readiness for preschool children in high poverty areas and locales with high numbers of students who are not reading at grade level. For more information on this grant competition, visit the Department of Education's Web site or contact Catherine D. Clarke, ASHA's Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy, via e-mail at cclarke@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4159.
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