Louisiana and Virginia Receive Striving Readers Grants to Implement Passport Reading Journeys for Struggling Students
DALLAS, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded eight Striving Readers grants, including Louisiana and Virginia. The two states will receive a total of $1,596,913 to implement the middle school reading intervention program, Passport Reading Journeys(TM), developed by education publisher, Voyager Expanded Learning, Inc.
"Voyager's current collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Education provides supporting data that shows improvements in the students' reading achievement when Passport Reading Journeys is used with fidelity," said Jill Slack, Director of the Literacy and Numeracy Initiative and Striving Readers Project for the Louisiana Department of Education. "The Striving Readers grant will allow us to better understand the specific features of the program that impact the reading performance of our struggling middle school students."
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Striving Readers program awards competitive grants designed to raise the literacy levels of adolescent students in Title I-eligible schools and to build a strong, scientific research base for identifying and replicating strategies that improve adolescent literacy instruction. The grant period is from October 2009-September 2013 in which time, independent evaluations will collect and analyze data on how Passport Reading Journeys impacts student achievement.
"The Virginia schools selected are making progress, but still have a significant number of students reading below grade level," said Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Virginia Department of Education. "Through the Striving Readers grant, we hope to address the instructional needs of these students while learning more about effective programs to increase adolescent literacy."
Passport Reading Journeys is a proven effective program that contains exciting topics and cutting-edge technology, captures student interest and accelerates reading achievement and academic performance. In addition to providing curriculum for students, a key component of the Striving Readers grants includes the ability for educators to access professional development. Voyager Expanded Learning is considered an industry leader in providing professional development and ongoing support to customers. The Voyager professional development goal is to empower teachers and principals to maximize student potential.
The following schools in Louisiana and Virginia will receive funding to implement the Passport Reading Journeys program:
Virginia:
Norfolk Public Schools:
Azalea Gardens Middle School
Lake Taylor Middle School
Richmond Public Schools:
Thomas C. Boushall Middle School
Lucille M. Brown Middle School
Roanoke Public Schools:
Addison Aerospace Magnet Middle School
Breckinridge Middle School
Stonewall Jackson Middle School
Woodrow Wilson Middle School
Louisiana:
Caddo Parish School Board
Turner Elementary/Middle School
Donnie Bickham Middle School
Calcasieu Parish School Board
Ray D. Molo Middle School
Oak Park Middle School
Lafayette Parish School Board
Carencro Middle School
Judice Middle School
Lafayette Middle School
N.P. Moss Middle School
Tangipahoa Parish School Board
Independence Middle School
Lucille Nesom Middle School
About Voyager Expanded Learning
Voyager Expanded Learning provides core, intervention and supplemental reading programs, as well as math intervention and ongoing professional development programs, for school districts throughout the United States. Founded in 1994, Voyager has delivered extended-time reading and basic skills intervention programs, as well as large-scale reading and math programs, to more than 1000 school districts in cities such as Buffalo, Miami, New York City, Richmond, Va., El Paso and Los Angeles, resulting in dramatically improved student performance. Voyager Expanded Learning, Inc. is a business unit of Voyager Learning Company (OTC: VLCY.PK) and based in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit www.voyagerlearning.com or call 1-888-399-1995.
