Delaware gets $8.7M grant to help teachers merge literacy with civics, history lessons

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Delaware has received a $8.7 million federal education grant that will be used to help teachers integrate literacy with civics and history lessons for struggling students.

The focus will be on kids in grades 4 through 12, according to the state Department of Education, whose project was one of 24 funded nationally by the Trump administration.

No one from the Department of Education was available to talk with WHYY News, but Secretary of Education Cindy Marten issued a statement about receiving the grant.

The award recognizes the work teachers are already doing “to help students become strong readers and thoughtful members of their communities,’’ Marten said. “By bringing literacy together with civics and history, we are creating learning experiences that build confidence, curiosity, and critical thinking — especially for students who deserve the greatest support — while continuing to expand the evidence-based practices taking root across our state.”

Marten’s department will coordinate nationally with the nonprofit Center for Civic Education in Washington, D.C., and locally with the University of Delaware’s Center for Civics Education.

Marten’s office outlined these ways the state aims to utilize the federal dollars:

• Strengthen educator capacity to deliver explicit, evidence-based literacy instruction integrated with civics and history in grades 4–8.
• Increase students’ grasp of English, history and social studies standards while deepening civic knowledge.
• Expand integrated literacy approaches across the social studies disciplines and other content areas to align with Delaware’s literacy standards for grades 6–12.