Bridgeton Public Schools Implements Year 2 of Their Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grant

Bridgeton Public Schools, New Jersey, recipient of one of 46 first-time grants in 21 states, was awarded the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grant from the Department of Education to support “high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills.” The district’s goal is to promote early literacy and prepare young children to develop and improve their abilities to read, as well as to motivate older children to read.

As part of Bridgeton’s balanced literacy program, the district implemented American Reading Company’s 100 BOOK CHALLENGE (in English and Spanish) in their PreK and Kindergarten classrooms as the structured independent reading system for use at school and at home, requiring daily involvement of parents as home reading practice coaches.

Teachers received additional support with an online formative assessment tool, a developmental reading taxonomy, a student reading growth data tracking system, and Bookshelf, an eBook reader with a library of 200+ English and Spanish titles for emergent readers.

In their second year of implementation, the district has expanded the program into first and second grades.

Learn more about the grant.