Grassley: More Than $4.3 Million to the Des Moines School District from U.S. Department of Education

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $4,308,288 grant to the Des Moines Independent Community School District. The grant is funded through the Early Reading First Program.

 

“These funds will help children in Des Moines get a head start on their education, so they enter kindergarten better prepared,” Grassley said.

 

The Des Moines Independent Community School District will use the funds to implement the Preparing Early Readers for Kindergarten project at five early childhood sites serving high-need neighborhoods in Des Moines to improve oral language, alphabet knowledge, phonological and print awareness. The project will allow 426 students in 25 classrooms to enter kindergarten better prepared and ready to learn. 

 

The purpose of the Early Reading First Program is to support local efforts to enhance the early language, literacy and pre-reading development of preschool age children, particularly those from low-income families.