Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee has officially designated March 2-6 as Read Across America Week, and the entire month as Literacy Month, highlighting the state's efforts to bolster literacy and prepare young students for successes ahead. In a visit to Huntingdon Primary School in Carroll County, alongside First Lady Maria Lee, the Governor took a moment to read with the students and celebrate the significant stride the state has made in reading proficiency.
In his latest budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26, Lee has earmarked over $27 million towards K-3 literacy programs, aiming to provide a robust pathway to justly ensure every child in Tennessee has the chance to become a proficient reader. This push comes on the heels of bipartisan-supported strategies developed in 2021 that were crafted to tackle ongoing challenges in literacy and learning loss. According to the Governor's office, Lee’s initiatives include "free tutoring, summer camps or options for re-testing," weaving a support net from as early as kindergarten.
The results speak volumes, with Tennessee leaping forward; 41 percent of third graders in the state now meet reading expectations. Moreover, the 2024 Nation’s Report Card indicates Tennessee is outpacing the national average in reading proficiency scores for both 4th and 8th grade students. A phonics-based approach to reading instruction, where children learn by sounding out words, has been a cornerstone of the state's literacy strategy and is credited for these gains.
Backing this literacy drive are key initiatives such as Reading 360 and Tennessee Accelerated Literacy and Learning (ALL) Corps, which, alongside ongoing support from the state, offer tailored grants, resources, and tutoring services to help almost fully recover academic learning that was lost and continue moving forward. "Tennessee launched Reading 360 in 2021, offering optional grants and resources tailored to the needs of individual districts," states the official release from the Governor's office, outlining a broad landscape of resources now at the disposal of Tennessee's students.
