The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has announced the recipients of the 2026 Read to Achieve (RTA) grant awards. Cravens Elementary school was among the recipients.
Two hundred forty-three competitive applications from across the state were submitted to KDE, and the top-scoring 150 applicants will be awarded. Grant awards are $70,000 per year for a two-year period, with the option of a grant renewal for an additional two years contingent upon implementation of all program components, grant requirement compliance, demonstrated student progress and the availability of funds.
The RTA grant, funded by the Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund created by the Kentucky General Assembly, was created to help teachers and library media specialists improve the reading skills of students in kindergarten through grade 3 who are reading at low levels and need accelerated learning. Schools awarded the RTA grant must ensure schoolwide use of a multi-tiered system of supports for students in kindergarten through grade 3 that includes a tiered continuum of interventions with varying levels of intensity and duration.
Grantees must also participate in High-Quality Curriculum Based Professional Learning (CBPL) for administrators and K-3 reading instructional staff in their approved comprehensive schoolwide reading program aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Reading and Writing, as well as the accelerated, structured-literacy intervention that includes evidence-based reading instruction in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension for (K-3) students reading at low levels.
Schools that are awarded RTA grant funds must provide matching funds and assure the complete sustainability of the implementation of reading intervention services, professional learning requirements, and all costs associated with implementing the professional learning and intervention program into the appropriate tiers of instruction.