(Des Moines, IA) -- The state of Iowa's spending $3.5 (M) million on an early-elementary reading program. The state plans to give every first grader a decodable book pack to take home and keep. More than 100-thousand book packs will be sent to all public and accredited nonpublic schools in Iowa. Schools and families do not need to apply, book packs will be sent out directly.

“Iowa is making early literacy a top priority, recently enacting landmark literacy legislation, improving state standards and ensuring teachers have the tools they need to hone this foundational skill in their students,” Gov. Reynolds said. “These book packs, based on the Science of Reading, bring parents more fully into that process by giving them a fun way to reinforce at home what their children are learning at school. It’s a powerful way to teach our kids to read—so they can spend a lifetime reading to learn.”

The books are for beginning readers and use simple words to help students connect letters and sounds. The book packs progressively introducing more complex skills.

“In partnership with their classroom teachers, families across Iowa can use these evidence-based book packs to reinforce phonics and decoding skills with their children anytime, anywhere,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “These decodable books meet students where they are, supporting reading comprehension that unlocks a child’s lifetime of potential.”

The Department chose Just Right Reader through a competitive bid process to provide decodable reading packs at no cost to Iowa elementary schools and families. Grounded in the Science of Reading, the decodable book packs are customizable and available at multiple reading levels so students can practice reading outside the classroom. Each decodable book includes a QR code with access to video lessons for active family engagement.

The book packs are being provided to all public and accredited nonpublic elementary schools to send home with nearly 38,000 first-grade students. Kindergarten through second grade students in need of support who attended a Department-funded high-quality summer reading program or a Learning Beyond the Bell out-of-school program this year will also receive decodable book packs to further advance their reading gains.

Funds for these Science of Reading-aligned book packs are provided through the Iowa Department of Education’s portion from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund and the American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (ARP EANS) Fund to address state-level educational efforts.

More information on literacy instruction in Iowa is available on the Department’s Literacy Instruction webpage. Information about Just Right Reader can be found on the Just Right Reader | Decodable Books + Take-Home Decodable Boxes website.