The State Board of Education on Aug. 8 voted to approve a set of contracts and grant awards designed to expand literacy instruction statewide, including subawards from the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant, authorization for an educator effectiveness specialist contract with ESU 13, and acceptance of private funding for a statewide leadership network.

Board members said the actions advance a multi-year strategy the department is implementing with a federal CLSD award described at the meeting as $55,000,000 over five years. Commissioner Maher framed the spending as an effort to “double down on our literacy efforts across the state” and said the department is building policy and operational supports as the school year begins.

During debate, members emphasized sustainability and coaching. One board member noted the grants list includes a large number of recipients and asked whether professional learning would be sustained beyond initial awards; staff described an application rubric and monitoring plans for implementation. The board then moved to award CLSD subawards to identified grantees; the motion passed on a roll-call vote.

Board members also voted to authorize the commissioner to contract with ESU 13 to place an educator effectiveness specialist to support implementation of the statewide educator effectiveness system. The motion carried by unanimous roll-call vote.

On a related item, the board accepted funds to establish the Nebraska Literacy Leadership Network and publicly acknowledged a $25,000,000 investment from the Sherwood Foundation toward that network. Board member Deborah Neary said the gift was significant: “This isn’t a small project or amount. This is a really big deal and it is going to be transformational.” Commissioner Maher said the private and federal dollars will be used to build coherent systems, including coaches to work directly with teachers, rather than short-term fixes.

The board adopted the motions by roll call during the Aug. 8 meeting; the department’s staff said they will oversee contracting and subaward administration and report back to the board on implementation and outcomes in future meetings.

What’s next: Staff will proceed with contracts and subawards and return implementation updates to the board; commissioners and committee chairs said they expect ongoing discussion about how the department will monitor effectiveness and sustainability.