By Kathy Chouteau
The Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) has received a $5 million grant over three years from the California Department of Education to support student literacy efforts, according to an announcement from County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey.
The grant will support efforts to strengthen schools’ ability to support students facing reading challenges, and will also encompass students with disabilities and dyslexia. According to CCCOE, the funding will help fortify district and site multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS); develop district and pilot site literacy plans and implement evidence-based strategies through improvement cycles; and increase family and community engagement in literacy.
CCCOE is one of seven county offices of education awarded the grant from the California Department of Education and will act as a Local Literacy Agency as part of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLDS) federal grant program, per CCCOE.
In administering the grant in Northern California, CCCOE will collaborate with the Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD), which was selected following a review of its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals, student enrollment and demographics and academic performance data, stated CCOE.
CCCOE’s partnering agency, San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), will receive approximately $2 million of the grant and will partner with Oceanside Unified School District in Southern California to implement it there.
Superintendent Mackey said the grant will allow the office “to develop and design strategies for literacy learning for all students and also support our most vulnerable and challenged students.” She further underscored that “this type of foundational work is crucial for the lifelong success of all students.”
CCOE said grantees are directed to use the funding to create strategies that address the Comprehensive Literacy Plan’s statewide literacy priorities via a three-year, small-scale pilot with a local school district.
For more info about the grant or state literacy plan, click here.
