Easthampton schools get $340K boost for early literacy education

EASTHAMPTON — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll traveled to Easthampton on Monday to announce that the school district is one of 29 districts in the state receiving a combined $9.3 million in funding to boost early literacy education.

The funding comes from the Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts (PRISM) II grants, the second of three rounds of PRISM grants in the first year of Gov. Maura Healey’s Literacy Launch initiative. The initiative is a multi-year strategy supported by $20 million in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

The grant and initiative are designed to help schools strengthen literacy education, by giving students the reading and writing skills necessary for academic success and lifelong learning.

“I can’t think of a better place to invest state resources than in early literacy,” said Driscoll from the city’s public library annex at 52 Main St. “We know what early literacy investments can do to change the directory of a child’s life and how important it is to learn to read. These programs are designed to help ensure we are thinking about how we can best support local officials with that work … As someone who comes from local government, I know the value of investing these dollars.”

Driscoll was accompanied by state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler during her visit and been in Greenfield earlier in the day to discuss rural housing issues.

Through the second round of funding, the Healey-Driscoll Administration make an emphasis on implementing research-based literacy programs particularly for younger ages. Easthampton Public Schools (EPS) will received $274,023, as the only recipient in Hampshire county. Greenfield Public Schools received $95,100 as the only recipient in Franklin County.

Easthampton Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Balch is ready to put the funding to use.

“This grant isn’t just about us purchasing materials. It’s about giving our teachers support, resources, coaching and what they need in order to make literacy come alive for our students,” she said. “Our goal is that every child sees themselves in the curriculum, in the materials in a very meaningful and authentic way.”

Along with coaching and learning materials, the funding will help EPS implement the third edition of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) learning curriculum for the upcoming school year. The curriculum applies to grades K-5, implementing a research-based model that focuses on language comprehension and word recognition. The curriculum splits the two skills apart, adjusting teaching methods based on a child’s reading level for each skill.

In June 2024, EPS put together a pilot team to analyze different research, curricula and models for early literacy education, landing on the CKLA curriculum as the best option. The search was spearheaded by EPS Curriculum Director Julie Anne Levin, and Mountain View School Literacy Coordinator and Coach Jodi Alatalo, who co-authored the grant proposal.

“To say I’m excited for our students and educators in Easthampton is an understatement,” said Alatalo. “The PRISM grants … made possible by our state-level partners will provide our educators pre-K-5 with high-quality instructional materials and training.”

A definitive factor for Alatalo and the team in choosing the curriculum, are the opportunities it creates for historically underserved groups and communities, allowing all students access to grade appropriate resources.

She reminisced back to the fifth grade when she first read the fantasy novel “Bridge to Terabithia.” The book sparked her fondness for literature, “Not only did that story provide me with a connection to home, but it opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities within the pages of a book … I believe that we as educators have a responsibility to be a bridge for our students. To honor and celebrate their diverse home literary experiences and to create the conditions in our classrooms for active engagement.”

The Literacy Launch initiative consists of three rounds of funding: PRISM I, II and III. The difference is, funding from PRISM II is designated for children in pre-K-3, and PRISM III for grades four-twelve.

Tutwiler explained that grades pre-K-3 are a crucial time to intervene in literacy education. If children are not hitting their benchmarks, it is difficult to keep up in grade four and beyond.

“That’s why we are laser focused on these early years and we’re trying to get this right because we have to,” he said. “It is that important. I know that right here in Easthampton you have the leadership dedicated to improving early literacy.”

The first round of funding gave $326,477 to 15 school districts announced in January, with the $9.3 million coming in the second round.

Another round announced earlier this month, allocated $3.3 million to 25 school districts. Since the CKLA curriculum applies to ages beyond the third grade, EPS will receive an additional $66,500 in funding dedicated for grades four and five. In the area, other previous funding recipients include the Northampton and Gateway public school districts, each receiving $18,000.

The administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget further invests $50 million in early literacy. This includes $25 million for the second year of Literacy Launch and $25 million for literacy high dosage tutoring. The high dosage tutoring funding aims to reach 10,000 students in grades K-3, with priority given to first grade students, to address pandemic learning loss and accelerate skill development.

Easthampton wasn’t the only city in western Massachusetts Driscoll visited on Monday. That morning, she and Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus went to Greenfield to join local and state officials to discuss the unique challenges western Massachusetts faces while trying to grow its housing supply.

“To grow a strong economy, you need to have housing to support that ecosystem. Here in Greenfield and in Franklin County in general, we are seeing declining populations, so we want to have housing that can support the needs of this region,” Driscoll said. “We want to have a strong, healthy, vibrant economy, and those two are symbiotic relationships between housing and growing a strong economy.”

Specifically, Driscoll was asked for a “Cornerstone Communities” designation that would help ensure state funding for housing production can be funneled to rural municipalities.

Sam Ferland can be reached at sferland@gazettenet.com. Staff Writer Anthony Cammalleri contributed to this report.