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District seeks permission to spend up to $733,000 in state dyslexia‑law grant on K–5 Into Reading materials and small‑group books
Summary
Instruction staff said the district won a state dyslexia‑law grant of about $733,000 and proposed spending the award on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Into Reading materials (fifth grade upgrades, digital licenses) and leveled small‑group texts for K–5 book rooms.
Mrs. O’Brien (instruction) presented a recommended spending plan for a state dyslexia/grant (referred to in the meeting as the 35 grant) that the district was awarded for tier‑1 literacy materials.
Key points
- Grant and eligible purchases: the grant is part of Michigan’s dyslexia‑law funding and provides districts options across three pathways: tier‑1 materials, intervention materials, or professional development. The district applied under the tier‑1 pathway and the allowable vendors are set by state guidance; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Into Reading (2025 edition) is an approved provider. - Proposed purchases: the district proposes to update fifth‑grade Into Reading teacher materials, purchase one year of digital and print student licenses (with multi‑year student materials where allowed by the grant) and to buy small‑group leveled texts aligned to Lexile bands for K–5 book rooms. Purchases must be made through the approved vendor list in the grant guidelines. - Award amount and procurement limits: Mrs. O’Brien said the grant award is approximately $733,000. District staff said they will not buy extraneous materials and will prioritize alignment to current curricular work; because the award must be expended on approved materials and within the grant timeline, some purchases (student journals/consumables) may be acquired in bulk under the grant timetable.
Why it matters
Instruction staff said the purchases would support consistent, research‑aligned tier‑1 instruction and small‑group instruction organized by Lexile (not only by guided‑reading level), and would bolster K–5 library/bookroom selections for targeted instruction.
Next steps
Staff requested board approval to proceed with purchases up to the grant award amount, to be procured from HMH per state rules. Staff said they will return purchase quotes and final line‑item details when they bring the contract(s) forward for approval.
