News Release

ROCHESTER — The state of Indiana recently awarded $450,000 in grant funding to help implement Science of Reading instruction, and area school systems were among the recipients.

The Rochester Community School Corp. received $150,657 and the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. received $147,900, according to a news release from the office of state Sen. Stacey A. Donato, who represents District 18.

The grant money is the result of $20 million allocated in the 2024-2025 state budget to expand Science of Reading instruction in Hoosier schools. Science of Reading is a research-based strategy that uses phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to teach literacy.

Roughly one in five Hoosier third-graders was not reading at grade level in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the news release.

“As your state senator, I look forward to seeing the impact this funding will have on our students and anticipate considering policy during the 2024 legislative session that would help young Hoosiers better develop and retain their literacy skills,” said Donato in the news release.