Toledo schools get more than $1M from state
Toledo Public Schools received a financial boost from the state as it continues to focus on early childhood education.
The Ohio Department of Education awarded TPS nearly $1.2 million as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant.
ODE awarded more than $33 million to 46 school districts and a consortium of districts to improve students’ language and literacy development. TPS was the only school district in northwest Ohio to receive funding.
Over the next three years, TPS will use the grant money to emphasize improving early childhood education. Developing a foundation of reading and literacy skills at an early age is critical for students’ long-term academic success, said Amy Allen, TPS director of early childhood and special education.
“We decided as a district, given our scores and the importance of early literacy, we would focus our attention on the preschool through third-grade levels,” she said.
TPS will spend the majority of the money on professional development, Ms. Allen said. The district is developing teams of pre-K through third-grade teachers in its elementary schools that will participate in professional development every other month. The professional development includes curriculum training, teacher strategies, and stages of literacy development. Each team will receive its training together as a unit, and the district, in turn, expects that training to translate to the classroom, thereby enhancing literacy rates.
“We want our teachers and administrators learning the same language, learning the same curriculum, learning the same skills, and having conversations about what they see in their own building across the continuum of pre-K through third grade,” Allen said.
“That’s the way we can have the biggest impact is to change practice in the classroom, and that starts with what the teachers are doing.”
Ohio was one of 11 states that received money from the U.S. Department of Education. Only three states received more than the $35 million awarded to Ohio.
More than 90 percent of the $1,191,530 awarded to TPS is designated for students in grades K-5. The remaining portion is for children up to 5.
The state received 110 applications for funding and selected the 46 recipients after a competitive peer review process. The threeyear grant focused on serving the largest number of students living in poverty, students with disabilities, English learners, and students with reading difficulties.
“Reading is the foundational skill that ultimately allows us to learn more, and through this application process, we were able to see the great work happening in Ohio’s schools,” said Paolo DeMaria, state superintendent of public instruction.
“These Striving Readers grants put crucial resources directly into classrooms across the state, and we’re excited to work with awardees to improve outcomes for Ohio’s most vulnerable children.”