DELAWARE - The Delaware Department of Education has been awarded $8.7 million through a competitive federal grant aimed at expanding innovative, evidence-based education practices that support students.
The grant, totaling $8,709,923, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research program, part of a $256 million national effort to fund 24 projects across the country. Delaware is one of just 10 state agencies to receive an award this year, the highest number of state-led awards in the program’s history.
Delaware’s winning proposal, titled Literacy for We the People, aims to combine evidence-based literacy instruction with civics and history in grades 4 through 8. The project will scale up successful practices already in place in Delaware, while expanding integration across subjects and contributing to national research.
“This investment recognizes the important work Delaware educators are doing every day to help students become strong readers and thoughtful members of their communities,” said Secretary of Education Cindy Marten. “By bringing literacy together with civics and history, we are creating learning experiences that build confidence, curiosity, and critical thinking—especially for students who deserve the greatest support.”
Through the five-year grant, the Delaware Department of Education will:
- Strengthen educator capacity to deliver explicit, evidence-based literacy instruction integrated with civics and history
- Improve student performance in English language arts and social studies while fostering civic engagement
- Scale Science of Reading practices from the Early and Secondary Literacy Leadership Academies
- Expand integrated literacy approaches in grades 6–12 aligned to the state’s literacy standards
The department will partner nationally with the Center for Civic Education in Washington, D.C., and work locally with the University of Delaware’s Center for Civics Education.