Wayland Union Schools students will can improve on reading skills this summer, thanks to an interventions grant from the Michigan Department of Education.
This state grant will allow the district to provide summer programming for students in Young Fives through third grade who are at risk of not scoring proficient in reading on the M-STEP program. The grant is used to help districts with the cost of additional instruction time in order for students to be reading at grade level by the end of grade 3.
The grant will be used to pay for teachers, aides and transportation for participating students. Thanks to the WUS Summer Meals program, students will also be provided with breakfast and lunch during the summer learning program.
Teachers also will be able to use some of the funds to purchase additional books for their classroom libraries to make sure students in all classrooms have access to high-interest books aligned with their interests and reading levels.
Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Teresa Fulk said, “We are so grateful for this grant opportunity from the Michigan Department of Education. Our district’s Federal Title I allocation was significantly reduced this year, since these funds are typically used to pay for the bulk of our academic summer programming, we weren’t sure what we’d be able to offer. These grant funds allow us to continue programming and work with students to prevent summer learning loss and help students reach the goal of being proficient readers by third grade.”
Parents of students who qualify will be notified in mid-February or early March.
