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REVERE – On Wednesday the Healey-Driscoll administration celebrated Read Across America Week with students and educators at the A.C. Whelan Elementary School in Revere. Read Across America Week is celebrated beginning on March 2, which coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, encouraging students to read and celebrating the power of literacy as a foundational skill. Members of the Healey-Driscoll administration have been celebrating Read Across America this week to uplift the importance of reading.

In order to support young readers across Massachusetts, Governor Healey announced Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3. This new, multi-year strategy aims to improve early literacy education by expanding access to high-quality, evidence-based reading instruction. Governor Healey has recommended $30 million in her fiscal year 2025 budget for the first year of Literacy Launch, on top of $5 million in continuing early literacy programming from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“As we celebrate Read Across America this week, we’re reminded of the importance of ensuring every student in Massachusetts can read and read well. With Literacy Launch, we are going to give students and educators the tools to do just that,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We are grateful to have the partnership of local districts, like Revere Public Schools, who are taking the right steps to strengthen literacy for their students.”

“Learning to read well can set our students up for a lifetime of success – from school to career and beyond,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “That is why we are approaching literacy with urgency in our FY25 budget, so students have access to high quality early literacy curriculum that will set them up to be successful readers.”

Literacy Launch will make high quality early literacy professional development available for K-3 educators in all districts and provide broad scale support for early educators who support literacy in preschool. The program will be implemented by the Executive Office of Education, in coordination with DESE and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). The proposed budget investment will also help approximately 45 school districts transition to a strong, evidence-based literacy program through a competitive grant program, including acquisition of high-quality materials and long-term technical support from DESE. Further, Literacy Launch will update approval criteria and accelerate review timelines for teacher education programs to require evidence-based early literacy training for future educators.

“We are committed to getting literacy right, because our students deserve the highest quality literacy curriculum and instruction that we can provide,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “We want to ensure every student develops reading skills which are foundational not only to their education, but to their futures.”

Literacy Launch builds on existing literacy programming at DESE that has been in high demand. In 2020, DESE released Mass Literacy, a guide with tools and supports for evidence-based early literacy instruction for all of our students. Additionally, under several programs, including Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) and Accelerating Literacy grants, DESE has been offering opportunities for districts to receive multi-year technical support and funding for improvements in literacy teaching and materials. Across GLEAM elementary schools, there was a 22 percent decrease in students at risk of reading difficulty in grades K-5 in the first 18 months of the program.

“Literacy Launch is a welcome proposal in an area that’s foundational for student success: early literacy,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley. “It’s critical for schools to get early literacy right, not only for future academic success, but so that students can know the freedom and joy of reading this week and throughout the year.”

“Educators and families have been eager for additional support for literacy instruction, and we know that a strong start in the early grades sets students up for success,” said DESE Director of Literacy and Humanities Katherine Tarca. “The additional investments from Literacy Launch would bring that support to more schools and students.”

Revere Public Schools has partnered with DESE in several of these literacy initiatives. This year, the district is participating in DESE’s Dyslexia Institute, which provides Massachusetts educators with best practices on early literacy screening, identification of students with reading challenges, and specialized interventions for students with dyslexia. Revere has also been awarded a GLEAM grant from DESE to support literacy instruction in the secondary grades.

“Reading is fundamental to learning – it provides all of us the basic tool we need to choose our path in life,” said Mayor of Revere Patrick Keefe. “We are proud to celebrate reading and literacy today with Governor Healey and Lt Governor Driscoll and their leadership in advancing education for all students in our diverse community.

“The children of Revere have benefitted greatly from several of the literacy initiatives offered by the Governor’s office and DESE,” said Dr. Dianne Kelly, Superintendent of Revere Public Schools. “We are really excited to host Governor Healey this morning to read to our students and promote literacy. Even when I was a high school math teacher, I realized how essential literacy skills were to my students. Without proficient literacy, students can’t access any of the curriculum which is why Literacy Launch is so important – it is the gateway to every student’s success.”

Members of the Healey-Driscoll administration have been celebrating Read Across America Week, emphasizing the power of literacy and importance of helping young readers succeed, including Secretary Patrick Tutwiler who kicked off this week reading to students in Dorchester, and Commissioner of Early Education and Care Amy Kershaw who read to students at the YMCA in Boston.