Thirty-Nine School Districts Awarded READ Funds for Innovative Literacy Programs

Michigan Department of Education Awards $6.7M in Grants

LANSING – Thirty-nine school districts from across Michigan are being awarded state grants totaling more than $6.7 million for innovation in teaching literacy, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced today.

MDE is awarding funds to traditional public school districts, intermediate school districts, and charter schools through the competitive Reading Excellence and Advancing District (READ) Innovation Grant. 

“School districts from Metro Detroit, to West Michigan, to the U.P. are innovating to improve student literacy,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “It will take both innovation and research-based literacy instruction to improve our children’s reading and writing achievement and continue progress on Goal 2 of Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, to improve early literacy achievement.”

As part of the State School Aid Act for fiscal year 2025, the legislature designated $10 million in Section 35n funds for MDE to provide startup money to eligible school districts for innovative literacy initiatives that could be scaled by other districts state-wide and improve student outcomes in literacy, with incentive money available to districts whose innovations have demonstrated the greatest impact.

MDE received applications from 115 districts. Members of Michigan’s Committee for Literacy Achievement, which includes educators, administrators, and literacy and program evaluation experts, evaluated applications for the first round of the competitive grant process. Three rounds of funding are available during this three-year grant, which will culminate in a $500,000 award for one elementary innovation and one secondary innovation.

The 39 districts and the amount of funding awarded in the first round are:

• Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District, $187,500.
• Anchor Bay School District, $157,000.
• Avondale School District, $187,500.
• Benton Harbor Area Schools, $168,000.
• Birmingham Public Schools, $187,500.
• Chelsea School District, $178,500.
• Chippewa Valley Schools, $187,500.
• Comstock Public Schools, $21,000.
• Copper Island Academy, $118,520.
• Detroit Academy of Arts & Sciences, $186,980.
• Edwardsburg Public Schools, $187,500.
• Fowlerville Community Schools, $187,000.
• Frankenmuth School District, $187,496.
• Hastings Area School District, $186,000.
• Hazel Park School District, $187,500.
• Ida Public Schools, $180,000.
• Jenison Public Schools, $187,500.
• Kalkaska Public Schools, $114,620.
• Kenowa Hills Public Schools, $187,282.
• Kent Intermediate School District, $187,500.
• Lake Superior Academy, $107,450.
• L'Anse Creuse Public Schools, $187,500.
• Lincoln Consolidated School District, $138,455.
• Manchester Community Schools, $187,465.
• Marshall Public Schools, $187,500.
• Monroe Public Schools, $187,500.
• Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, $171,380.
• Muskegon Public Schools, $187,500.
• Northwest Community Schools, $186,550.
• Oak Park School District, $187,500.
• Oakridge Public Schools, $187,500.
• Perry Public Schools, $187,500.
• River Rouge School District, $187,500.
• Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools, $187,500.
• Swartz Creek Community Schools, $178,305.
• Washtenaw Technical Middle College, $150,594.
• West Bloomfield School District, $187,000.
• Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools, $178,478.
• Wyandotte School District, $187,500.

Hazel Park School District will use its $187,500 READ grant to integrate a reading interventionist into each middle school grade-level team to provide tiered literacy instruction.

“Securing the READ Innovation Grant affirms Hazel Park’s commitment to bold, research-driven practices that meet the needs of our students with the greatest challenges,” said Dr. Amy Wilcox, superintendent of Hazel Park School District.

“At Hazel Park Junior High School, this grant will allow us to fully integrate the Science of Reading into our innovative, team-based middle school model,” she said. “We will expand What I Need (WIN) blocks that dedicate class periods to personalized literacy support and intervention for students; build teacher capacity; and embed high-quality literacy instruction across content areas. By combining innovation with evidence-based practice, we are creating a sustainable system that accelerates reading achievement, strengthens engagement, and ensures that every student has the opportunity to succeed.”

For the first-round winners:

• 27,502 students will be involved in the innovative initiatives during the 2025-26 school year.
• 24 are elementary innovations and 15 are secondary innovations.
• 19 are in Michigan Opportunity Zones, which are low-income communities targeted for investments.

Marshall Public Schools will use its $187,500 READ grant at the elementary level.

"Marshall Public Schools' combination of operational capacity, professional development infrastructure, and community partnerships creates an ideal foundation for literacy innovation success,” said Marshall Superintendent Ms. Rebecca Jones. “This 35n funding allows Marshall Public Schools to implement an innovative and comprehensive approach that scales current pilot programs in an effort to ensure consistent, research-based instruction while providing individualized support for struggling readers."

The 39 districts selected will report progress and six of the districts—three elementary and three secondary—will be selected as finalists. The finalists will receive $375,000 in additional funding during the 2026-27 school year to expand their innovations.  

During the summer of 2027, the six finalists will report progress and two—one elementary and one secondary—that are determined to have made the greatest impact on student achievement will receive $500,000 as incentive money.  

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