The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment has announced an $85 million commitment in support of early literacy development in Indiana.

The commitment includes $60 million for literacy development aligned with the Science of Reading, a research-based strategy that integrates instructional practices with efforts focused on phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Coupled with an investment of approximately $26 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II funds by the Indiana Department of Education, the initiative will deploy instructional coaches to schools across Indiana; offer stipends to teachers who participate in professional development focused on the Science of Reading; target support for students who need the most help; and create a literacy center focused on Science of Reading strategies.

In addition, the Lilly Endowment will make up to $25 million available to Indiana’s colleges and universities to incorporate or enhance Science of Reading methods into their undergraduate elementary teacher preparation programs.

Results from Indiana’s statewide third grade reading assessment, IREAD-3, indicate that nearly one in five students (18.4 percent) have not mastered foundational reading skills by the end of grade three. The initiative aims to support the state’s goal of having 95 percent of Indiana’s students pass IREAD-3 by 2027.

“Far too few Indiana third graders have the necessary reading skills that they will need for future academic and life success,” said Lilly Endowment chair and CEO N. Clay Robbins. “Although we understand that many factors affect reading achievement, we are compelled by the research showing that Science of Reading strategies can help all students learn to read better and address equity gaps in reading. Knowing the important contributions teachers make every day in their classrooms, we want to make sure they are fully supported in this important work to help students learn to read well.”

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