The Salem School Division is excited to announce it has been awarded more than $500,000 through the 20-2026 Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant to expand literacy resources, provide professional development for staff, and strengthen family engagement across all six schools. The highly competitive statewide process attracted more than 150 applicants from across the commonwealth.
“We are incredibly proud to receive this funding, and we believe this investment affirms the strong work already happening in our classrooms,” said Dr. Curtis Hicks, Salem School Division superintendent. “These grants will allow us to further strengthen literacy instruction and family engagement from early childhood through high school.”
In its second year, the grant program will provide more than $7 million to schools across the commonwealth. The funding is designed to strengthen classroom instruction, support teachers and school leaders, and give families practical tools to help their child become strong readers. Meg Crew, Salem’s coordinator of state and federal programs, and Leigh Leslie, Salem’s instructional coach for literacy, were instrumental in securing this funding for Salem’s children.
“By expanding resources for our families and strengthening literacy supports at every level, we are reinforcing our belief that strong literacy foundations are essential to student achievement,” said Hicks. “We are grateful to the Virginia Department of Education for recognizing Salem’s commitment to this work.”
During the grant’s first year, 90 schools from 33 divisions were CLSD grant recipients. This year, following a competitive grant process, 106 schools from 27 divisions were provided with the grant awards.
“Virginia is making a clear choice to invest in literacy for every K-12 student,” said Emily Anne Gullickson, Superintendent of Public Instruction in Virginia. “Building off of the strong foundation established by the Virginia Literacy Act, these funds will support teachers in using proven reading practices to help every child learn to read and provides resources to families to support reading at home.”