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Gaston County Schools wins grants for K–2 'school ready' EC classes and Amira AI reading program
Summary
Gaston County Schools announced grants to add K–2 school-ready resource classes at Gardener Park Elementary (one EC teacher and an assistant) and funding for the Amira AI phonics program with more than 600 licenses and headsets to support K–8 exceptional children.
District staff said March 16 that Gaston County Schools received grant funding to support early learners with specialized instruction and literacy supports for exceptional children.
Chris Meals and Amanda Hulsey from the Department for Exceptional Children told the board Gardener Park Elementary will add a specialized K–2 school-ready resource classroom to provide intensive, individualized instruction aligned with IEP goals; the grant will fund hiring one exceptional children teacher and one teacher assistant for that purpose.
Separately, the district has been awarded grant funding to implement the Amira Learning Program, an AI-powered reading assistant. Staff said the program provides real-time coaching as students read aloud, supplies actionable data to teachers on phonics and decoding gaps, and will come with more than 600 licenses and headphones with microphones to support K–8 exceptional children with daily individualized phonics tutoring.
Ending: District staff presented the programs as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen literacy and early intervention; details on rollout and evaluation will be provided as the programs launch.
