State Will Award $200K In First Round Of Early Literacy Funding

Gov. Scott Walker and State Superintendent Tony Evers announced winners of the first round of grant funding for early literacy through Wisconsin’s Read to Lead Development Fund on Monday.

Superintendent Evers says the awards total around $200,000.

“It certainly isn’t a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but it’s going to impact thousands of kids and thousands of adults across the state of Wisconsin,” said Evers. “Hopefully we can leverage this money in the future to get some more private philanthropic folks involved with the effort.”

The awardees include the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Winnebago County Literacy Council, Central City Cyberschool of Milwaukee, Wausau District Elementary Schools, CESA8, Northwest Wisconsin Technical College, and Lancaster Public Library.

The fund was created as part of broader education legislation that Walker signed into law in 2011. It allocates $400,000 total in grants to support literacy and early childhood development programs.