Nov 25, 2002 By Kris Schiffbauer 2 min read

Local school districts participating in a state reading grant program got word recently of their final installment in the funding. Gov. Mark Schweiker announced $15 million as the last round of funding in the four-year Read-to-Succeed grant program.

“We’ve had an after-school tutoring program where we identified students in need of reading help and provided tutoring services in the evening at Perry and Waynesburg Central elementary schools. We feel it’s been very beneficial,” said Central Greene School District Superintendent Dr. Jerome Bartley.

Bartley said besides the after-school tutoring, the grant allowed the school district to bring in consultants for staff development in guided reading, a concept in which teachers group their students and then instruct them in reading at the group level in an effort to raise the reading skills of the collective classroom. He said the district was able to stock an elementary school book room of about 1,000 copies for teachers and students.

“It’s been very beneficial in many ways,” he said.

Central Greene joined Frazier, Laurel Highlands, Southeastern Greene, Bethlehem-Center and California Area school districts as local recipients.

The Central Greene grant for the 2002-2003 school year was $11,827 for Perry Elementary School and $73,889 for Waynesburg Central Elementary School. In Frazier School District, the grant was $19,036 for Central Elementary School and $16,903 for Perry Elementary School. The Laurel Highlands grant totaled $25,843 each for Clark, Hutchinson and Kennedy elementary schools.

Southeastern Greene School District’s Bobtown Elementary School received $85,716. Bethlehem-Center School District’s elementary school received $4,869. California Area School District’s elementary school received $85,716.

Bartley said Central Greene officials would attempt to replace the Read-to-Succeed grant with other funding next school year. He said they are looking at the state’s Classroom Plus program and the federal 21st Central Community Learning Center funding as alternatives to keep offering after-school tutoring.

Read-to-Succeed was a four-year, $100 million initiative meant to ensure that all students learn to read and write by the end of the third grade.

“All Pennsylvanians must be able to read if they are going to succeed in life,” Schweiker said in a prepared statement. “Thanks to the Read-to-Succeed program, thousands of Pennsylvania children are on their way to becoming better readers and getting a strong foundation for a brighter future.”

A total of 685 school buildings in 232 school districts received the grants.