Madison education research firm gets 7M grant to expand early literacy

Karen Riverdale:

Education Analytics, a Madison-based nonprofit focused on education research, has been awarded a $7.73 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education to expand an early literacy program in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs in in Wisconsin, Alabama and South Carolina.

The SPARK Early Literacy program is a research-based, kindergarten-through-second-grade early reading intervention developed by the Milwaukee-based Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. With the grant, Education Analytics will implement the early literacy program in 15 high-needs schools in rural and urban locations in the three states, the nonprofit said.

The program expansion will serve 960 students in the 15 schools across several Wisconsin school districts, including public schools in Milwaukee, Stevens Point, Almond-Bancroft, Sparta, Antigo and Wisconsin Rapids, as well as Darlington, South Carolina and Huntsville City, Alabama.

Madison has Long tolerated disastrous reading results.