Haverhill Public Schools is one of only 18 school districts and collaboratives statewide to share in $1.2 million in grants to implement “Appleseeds,” a package of materials for teaching foundational reading skills in kindergarten through second grade.
While Appleseeds is free to state school systems, Haverhill was awarded $141,535 by the Healey-Driscoll Administration to pay for professional printing of the materials and professional development for educators.
“This Appleseeds grant is an important part of our administration’s commitment to improving early literacy instruction,” said Gov. Maura T. Healey. “We also recently proposed Literacy Launch in our latest budget, a historic investment in early literacy from age 3 to grade 3, on top of additional funding for continued literacy programming from DESE.”
The state said districts may use Appleseeds to supplement existing early literacy curriculum that does not have a strong foundational skill component.
“Learning to read is a fundamental skill critical to every aspect of students’ education, but more importantly throughout their life,” said Education Secretary Patrick A. Tutwiler. “I have heard strong interest from many districts and educators in improving early literacy instruction. This grant will help schools and teachers implement evidence-based literacy materials and supports our shared vision of excellence for every child in Massachusetts.”