Arizona receives $8.4 million federal grant to boost early literacy programs

PHOENIX — Arizona is getting a major boost in the push to improve early literacy. The state has been awarded an $8.4 million one-year federal grant aimed at its youngest learners — funding officials say could help reverse declining reading scores across the state.

Read On Arizona, the state’s early literacy initiative, announced Monday that Arizona is one of 23 states selected to receive funding through the federal Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) Systems-Building Grant. The grant is administered by the Office of Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the project runs through Dec. 30, 2026.

State leaders say the grant will fund professional development for educators, the creation of regional family literacy hubs and broader systems-building strategies to improve the quality of early learning programs.

“Read On Arizona was proud to play a critical role in the collaborative and coordinated efforts of early childhood education partners in putting together a successful grant application,” said Lori Masseur, Director of Early Learning for Read On Arizona. “Partners identified critical elements, such as professional development for educators, regional family literacy hubs, fiscal mapping, and other systems-building strategies to improve the quality of early learning for Arizona’s youngest learners.”

Arizona’s application was submitted by the Arizona Department of Education and developed in partnership with Read On Arizona, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, the Arizona Head Start Association, First Things First and the Governor’s Office.

The grant comes as Arizona works to reverse a trend of declining reading scores. Early education is considered a key strategy in the state’s Arizona Literacy Plan 2030, which targets getting all students reading at grade level by third grade.

Officials point to states like Mississippi, which made significant gains in early literacy in recent years after prioritizing investment in preschool. Arizona leaders say high-quality early education helps build the language and early literacy skills children need to learn to read.

This story is made possible through grant funding from the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.

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