DELAWARE - The Delaware Department of Education has been awarded $8.7 million through the federal Department of Education's Innovation and Research program. The DOE says this is a highly competitive federal grant initiative that supports evidence-based solutions to education challenges.
Delaware's $8.7 million award is part of a larger $256 million national investment funding 24 of these new Innovation and Research projects in Fiscal Year 2025. The Delaware DOE highlights that 10 awards were given to state education agencies, which is the largest number of state-led education awards in the program's history.
Grant funding will be used for Delaware's Literacy for We the People project, which the Delaware DOE says advances evidence-based literacy instruction combined with civics and history.
The Delaware DOE says the grant will allow them to:
- Help teacher's deliver evidence-based literacy instruction with integrated civics and history in grades 4-8
- Increase student learning of English language arts as well as history and social studies while deepening knowledge of civics, skills, and dispositions
- Scale Science of Reading-aligned practices already underway in Delaware’s Early Literacy Leadership Academy and Secondary Literacy Leadership Academy
- Expand the integrated literacy approach across social studies disciplines and other areas to align with grades 6-12 literacy standards
Delaware DOE adds that the project will contribute to the national evidence base on effective literacy and civics integration.
