The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is accepting applications from early childhood education (ECE) programs for its new Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant program. In October 2019, the U.S. Department of Education awarded RIDE $20 million for the grant program, which will strengthen literacy development and instruction for children from birth through grade 12.
RIDE has set aside $3 million in CLSD Grant funds for community-based organizations and public schools that serve children from birth to pre-kindergarten. ECE programs across the state are encouraged to apply for a grant to boost their literacy efforts and curriculum. The objectives of the Birth to Pre-K grants are the following:
- Increase the percentage of students with access to high-quality curriculum, as defined in RIDE’s Comprehensive Early Childhood Education (CECE) Standards and/or the BrightStars standards
- Increase the number of programs utilizing Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG) to monitor student progress
- Increase the number of families participating in Pre-K evidence-based literacy activities
The grant period is five years. Applicants must conduct and submit a needs analysis with their application, along with a scope of work, work plan, budget, and demonstration of their capacity to implement the grant. Programs can apply for grant funding for the following activities, among others:
- Purchase a high-quality Pre-K curriculum
- Provide professional learning to implement high-quality curriculum
- Evaluate progress with TSG
- Provide professional learning to implement a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS)
- Implement an itinerant special education model
- Enhance their transition-to-kindergarten programs
Grant applications are due February 26, 2020, by 4:00 pm. Questions? Email clsd@ride.ri.gov.
