DES MOINES, Iowa — This winter, every first grader in Iowa will receive a book pack as part of a Gov. Reynolds and Iowa Dept. of Education investment in the state's students.
The $3.5 million project was made possible through federal Covid relief funds that were available to the Iowa Dept. of Education, and will see book packs go to both public and private school students.
“Iowa is making early literacy a top priority, recently enacting landmark literacy legislation, improving state standards and ensuring teachers have the tools they need to hone this foundational skill in their students,” Gov. Reynolds said.
With over a million books to be distributed, each student will be able to keep the books they are given.
The packs given to students will grow progressively harder from beginning to end in order to build the reading skill of each student.
According to the Dept. of Education, the books will be available in different reading levels to meet the needs of more students, and no application is necessary to obtain them as they will be sent directly to students.
“In partnership with their classroom teachers, families across Iowa can use these evidence-based book packs to reinforce phonics and decoding skills with their children anytime, anywhere,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow.