Sterling Public School Principal Jake Davenport informed the school board at their October 20 meeting that the district has been approved for a CLSD statewide literacy grant. “This is big,” he said.
In August 2024, the Nebraska Department of Education was awarded a federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant. The total award of $55 million spans five years. The purpose of the CLSD Program is to advance literacy and pre-literacy skills for students from birth to grade 12, with emphasis on disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities. The Nebraska CLSD Program will support the NebraskaREADS initiative, which was launched in 2018 in response to the requirements and practices outlined in the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act.
The vision of CLSD is to foster a culture of proficient and lifelong readers in Nebraska and unlock student potential for learning, earning, and living through a focus on evidence-based reading instruction. The goal fo the program is to increase third-grade proficiency on NSCAS ELA to 75% by 2030.
