State education officials defend competitive grant to buy ‘high‑quality instructional resources’ and pay teacher training

Kentucky Department of Education officials told the Contract Review Committee on May 1 that a competitive Read to Achieve grant is funding high‑quality instructional resources and associated professional learning for K‑3 teachers at schools across the state.

The department described the grant as a voluntary pilot that will cover resources and training for up to 500 students statewide; officials said about 300 families had signed up for services at the time of the hearing. Karen Worth, budget director at the Department of Education, and Crystal Rowland, director of the Division of Academic Program Standards, testified about the program’s goals and how recipients were chosen.

Officials said "high‑quality instructional resources" are materials aligned to Kentucky academic standards, research based or externally validated, comprehensive (including text, multimedia and embedded assessments), culturally relevant and accessible. Danielle Ward, Read to Achieve grant administrator, described the application as competitive: schools apply, demonstrate need with test data and complete an instructional resources alignment rubric tied to state standards.

Committee members pressed department officials on several topics. Representative McCool asked whether the program is voluntary and whether families must opt in; staff said families must opt in. Senator Meredith and others questioned distribution: 55 schools were awarded funding out of roughly 1,400 schools statewide, meaning fewer than 10% participated. Officials said they send the request for applications equally to districts and do not individually recruit specific low‑performing districts, and that some districts that might most need funds probably did not apply.

Lawmakers also asked about evaluation and sharing of results. Department officials said the University of Louisville Reading Research Center is under contract to collect survey, observation and focus‑group data and that preliminary qualitative feedback has been positive; the department said it will share findings with grantees and use results to inform future decisions. Representative McCool and Senator Meredith asked for broader distribution plans so nonparticipating districts can learn from outcomes.

The committee approved the memorandum of agreement items covering the Read to Achieve grants (routine MOA pink list numbers 35–50) on a voice/roll‑call motion brought by Senator Meredith and seconded by Senator Richardson. Members also approved the related item on the PSC green list (item number 9) after discussion.

Officials said the grant pays both for instructional materials and for staff time to participate in professional learning; schools indicate whether they will use release days, weekend workshops or other formats and may use funds to compensate teachers for time beyond district‑required professional learning.

The department said the Reading Research Center will administer required surveys and conduct focus groups and observations to generate evidence about what is working. Lawmakers repeatedly asked that the department provide the committee with the data and an implementation plan showing how successful practices could be expanded beyond the initial grantees.

Committee members who spoke in favor said the program gives teachers tools and training they lack; some voiced frustration that substantial data collection over years has not yet translated into consistent statewide score increases. Several members asked for clearer reporting next session.

The committee’s action clears the current pilot awards to proceed; officials said they will return results to the agency, to grantees and to the committee as the Reading Research Center’s analysis becomes available.