Grantees

AIM Institute for Learning & Research

Project

• The AIM Institute for Learning and Research helps teachers better serve children who are struggling to learn to read. This two-year (2024 and 2025) grant supports AIM’s efforts to develop an implementation strategy for its products and services that translates the sciences of literacy, implementation, and organizational change management into a scalable and sustainable process to impact student outcomes. Our funds will help AIM develop its first recurring revenue model that includes personalized coaching for teachers, in-person and digital offerings, and advisory and consulting services. 

Organization Website

Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd)

Project

• ExcelinEd helps state leaders transform education and equip all students for success. This grant supports the development and implementation of ExcelinEd’s Early Literacy Coaching Modules, a free professional development resource that supports state and school district leaders build the capacity of literacy coaches. ExcelinEd will offer a train–the–trainer convening to build knowledge around effective delivery of the Early Literacy Coaching Modules, thereby increasing the number of trained literacy coaches and improve literacy outcomes for students. 

Organization Website

FULCRUM

Project

• FULCRUM’s mission is to accelerate a movement of literacy leaders who apply the science of reading to improve all student outcomes. FULCRUM builds the capacity of leaders to implement structured literacy programs aligned to science of reading best practices and holds stakeholders accountable to science of reading aligned teacher training, curricula, and professional learning. This grant supports influencing the shift to the science of reading so all children will have the ability to read proficiently.  

Organization Website

Minnesota Public Radio

Project

• This two-year (2024 and 2025) grant to Minnesota Public Radio supports its “Sold a Story” podcast and its continuing coverage of teaching and learning in the United States, with a focus on reading instruction, teacher preparation, K-12 education policy, and curriculum. The goal is to help its audiences better understand our nation’s complex education system while also shining a light on the root causes of racial and economic gaps in reading outcomes. 

Organization Website

National Council on Teacher Quality

Project

• The National Council on Teacher Quality prioritizes improving student reading outcomes through evidence-based, high-quality teacher preparation and support. This two-year (2024 and 2025) grant supports the National Council on Teacher Quality’s efforts to ensure implementation of policies that advance scientifically based reading instruction as well as to develop its Teacher Preparation Instructional Materials Database as a unique, valuable resource to support effective teacher preparation. The goal is to make sure that teachers are well-prepared and supported in scientifically based reading instruction to advance student outcomes.  

Organization Website

Otto Learning

Project

• Otto is an artificial intelligence driven software platform used by teachers, students, and their parents to help K-3 students learn letter sounds, letter names, consonant digraphs, and high frequency words. Our program–related investment supports this early–stage company in developing its software platform in the following ways: update its user interface; improve its administrative and data back end; collect additional recordings for AI training; and develop additional skill modules.  

Organization Website

Relay Graduate School of Education

Project

• Relay is a practice-focused graduate school of education whose mission is to prepare teachers and leaders. Our grant supports Relay’s work to expand its impact by developing and refining a suite of supports for schools that implement research-based, literacy-focused, high quality instructional materials. Relay will expand its pilot initiative to prepare more teachers to implement these materials across schools with fidelity in District 18 in New York City, increasing students’ literacy skills and improving their overall academic success. 

Organization Website

ROAR

Stanford University

Project

• The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) is a suite of free online, open access, and open–source K-12 reading assessments. Our grant supports the expansion of ROAR to New York and Maine, establishing a pipeline to bring new reading assessment innovations to schools while, simultaneously, gleaning insights from teachers, principals, and district leaders. 

Organization Website

The Education Trust – New York

Project

• The Education Trust seeks to eliminate gaps in equity and opportunity that hold back many students from reaching their full potential, especially those from low-income families. This grant supports The New York Campaign for Early Literacy, leveraging growing statewide interest and concern around early literacy outcomes and approaches to literacy instruction for children – birth to age 8 – by building urgency and supporting passage and effective implementation of evidence-based policy changes at state and local levels. 

Organization Website

The Reading League

Project

• The Reading League seeks to advance awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction. This two-year (2024 and 2025) grant supports The Reading League’s work to evaluate and report on widely used school curricula as well as to provide a reliable tool for educators and decision-makers to choose evidence-aligned curricula, ultimately improving education nationwide. 

Organization Website