Lilly Endowment grants IPS $10 million+ grant for literacy initiative

INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with the Indianapolis Public Schools recently announced that the district will receive more than $10 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc. for a comprehensive literacy initiative.

According to a news release from the district, the $10.5 million investment from the Lilly Endowment will be provided to the district over the course of five years to help IPS address reading proficiency in its elementary schools.

This comes after the Eli Lilly Foundation provided a $5.5 million grant to the district to increase its STEM engagement, achievement and career readiness through the Destination 2032 program.

The endowment is providing the funding for the grant through its Marion County K-12 Public Schools initiative. The release said it is one of 43 implementation grants being awarded.

“We’re not only deepening our commitment to foundational literacy in our IPS elementary schools, but we’re also building a system of support that extends beyond the classroom and into the home,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in the release. “It’s a bold, research-driven approach that will help us reach thousands of students with the targeted, evidence-based instruction they deserve. This is exactly the kind of collaboration our children need — and deserve — to thrive.”

The new reading initiative is expected to impact around 18,500 students. The overall goal of the initiative is to increase IREAD-3 pass rates, expand tutoring access and place more students on a path to postsecondary success.

The district said some of the components that make up the IPS literacy initiative include:

• Increasing virtual tutoring access for students.
• Establishing a pilot program with Indy Reads to offer a two-generation literacy initiative for students and parents/guardians at home
• New professional development for teachers aligned with the Science of Reading.

“Education leaders from a wide array of public and private K–12 schools in Marion County responded to these initiatives by assessing the needs of their students and carefully researching evidence-based approaches that could help them address those needs,” Ted Maple, the vice president for education with the Lilly Endowment, said in the release. “They have developed thoughtful and strategic projects and programs to support students so they can thrive academically and build successful futures beyond high school.”

For more information about IPS, click here.