Helping our youngest students become better readers. That's a big focus of Idaho leaders this year and into the future.
The state dedicated more than $11 million this school year for reading proficiency.
That money will provide more support to struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade.
In her budget request for next school year, Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra is asking for nearly $8 million on top of that.
"There's a lot of research out there that states if you don't have students on grade level by the third grade the gap just continues to grow,” said Ybarra. “And reading stretches across every aspect of your life, driving, your job, your career, just anything you do you have to be able to read to do that. So we need to make sure that we are closing the gap by third grade for our students."
Ybarra talked about her priorities and a wide range of issues surrounding public education in an in-depth interview for Viewpoint program.
The topics include what's being done to deal with a teacher shortage, efforts to get more technology in the hands of Idaho's public school students, and how students scored on standardized tests.
That's this Sunday morning at 5:30 on Viewpoint.
