Literacy Launch
The Executive Office of Education, under the leadership of Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, and with the coordination of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education and Care, launched a new initiative called Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3. The new approach to improving early literacy education in the state will help make sure Massachusetts schools, educators and students have access to high-quality, evidence-based reading instruction through literacy materials, technical support, coaching and professional development.
The first year of this new, multi-year strategy is supported by the fiscal year 2025 budget and the federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant. Awardees will receive professional development, support to create partnerships with community-based preschool providers to align evidence-based early curriculum, instruction and assessment across the community, and funding for early literacy screening assessments, coaching support and to cover staffing costs for roles like literacy coaches or reading specialists through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in partnership with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).
The Healey-Driscoll Administration's fiscal year 2026 budget further invests $50 million in early literacy. This includes $25 million for year two of Literacy Launch and $25 million for literacy high dosage tutoring. The high dosage tutoring funding aims to reach 10,000 students in grades K-3, with priority given to students in grade 1, to address pandemic learning loss and accelerate skill development in this critical area.
In January 2025, the administration awarded the first round of grants to 15 school districts to support high-quality reading instruction.