State leaders recognized educators from 241 schools, including Cortland Elementary School in Cortland, with scores of 95% or above on the 2023 administration of the IREAD assessment at a ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday.

“Mastering foundational literacy skills by the end of third grade is vital to achieving our goal that 95% of Hoosier students are reading proficiently by 2027,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news release. “Across our state, educators, families and communities are linking arms to help more students read, and it is important that we celebrate this impactful work.”

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said, “While we urgently work to overcome our reading crisis in Indiana, we also must take time to celebrate the schools that continue to improve outcomes for students. Throughout the year, there are opportunities to highlight schools with visits, individual teacher celebrations and an annual red carpet gala for educators.

“Today, for the first time ever, we hosted a celebration for schools that are hitting our statewide reading goal. Today’s celebration included large and small schools, urban and rural as well as schools that serve diverse student populations, both in terms of race and ethnicity and socioeconomic status, yet the one thing that they all have in common is that they are making it work for students.”

The event program also included remarks from Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston thanking and celebrating the educators in attendance.

“Indiana has a goal of 95% proficiency, and the schools honored today represent that goal and so much more,” Bray said. “These educators are an inspiration to every other school, demonstrating that achieving our state’s literacy goal is not only attainable but attainable year after year.”

Under the leadership of Bray, Senate Bill 1, which focuses on early intervention and support for students to ensure they are reading by the end of third grade, is a top priority for the Indiana Senate during the 2024 legislative session and is also part of Holcomb’s 2024 Next Level Agenda. In 2023, under the leadership of Huston, the Indiana House of Representatives prioritized the passage of the state’s largest investment in literacy.

“Today, there is economic activity happening in every corner and in every county of our state,” Huston said. “For many reasons, there’s never been a better time to be a Hoosier, particularly a young Hoosier. But the foundation of that is reading. By helping more students gain foundation reading skills, Indiana’s educators are truly impacting kids’ lives. With the most heartfelt and deepest admiration and thankfulness, thank you for the work you put in every single day for the kids of Indiana.”

To support schools and educators as well as parents and families in preparing students with foundational reading skills, Indiana continues to make historic investments totaling over $170 million in literacy.

Examples of investments include introducing a new data visualization tool with key literacy data, providing over 105,000 hours of learning support and tutoring services regardless of a family’s ability to pay to over 20,000 students through Indiana Learns and growing the Indiana Learning Lab from 6,000 users in 2021 to nearly 60,000 users just two years later, in the process launching the Parent and Family Support Hub, which provides no-cost, 24/7 access to resources for parents and families to support their student’s learning.

Other examples of investments that continue to positively impact students include developing online professional development modules supporting Indiana educators with additional science of reading training, awarding the Expanding What Works grant to four regional partners serving over 3,000 students to increase access to high-quality summer programming, providing supplemental literacy and math instruction using evidence-based strategies and providing $10 million in cash stipends to teachers, instructional coaches and other school staff at all corporations and charter schools who are responsible for the implementation and delivery of early literacy and reading instruction through the Literacy Achievement Grants.