The City of Seattle's Human Services Department has been awarded a $4 million U.S. Department of Education grant to improve the literacy skills of low-income preschool children in Seattle.
The three-year grant is one of 32 grants totaling $114,972,187 that the U.S. Department of Education is awarding to Early Reading First programs nationwide.
Seattle's partners in implementing the program include Seattle Public Schools, the Seattle Public Library, Child Care Resources, Public Health-Seattle & King County and the University of Washington.
The Seattle Early Reading First program (SERF) will prepare preschool-age children who are low-income and at risk of educational failure when entering kindergarten with language, cognitive and early literacy skills necessary for reading success.
The program will partner with five community agencies in Seattle at several sites. The partner agencies include YMCA of Greater Seattle, Denise Louie Child Development Center, We Are the World Center, Causey's Learning Center and YWCA-Dunlap Elementary School.
Families will engage with literacy learning activities at the center, in the library and at home. The program's focus aligns with the strategies used by Seattle Public Schools to reduce disprop-ortionality: children progressing to kindergarten in Seattle Public Schools will be supported to continue their accelerated progress.
"We are committed to closing the achievement gap for children at risk," said Patricia McInturff, Director of the Seattle Human Services Department. "Together with our community partners, we will ensure that the most vulnerable preschool children in Seattle start kindergarten prepared to succeed."
SERF is designed to sustain the gains in early literacy in the early childhood community long after program funding has ended by developing highly qualified early childhood providers and well- equipped early childhood centers.
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