Fort Cherry, C-H receive funding for literacy programs
Two local school districts are among the first to receive funding from the initial round of awards through a newly created Pennsylvania Department of Education grant program designed to improve student literacy.
Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry School Districts received six-figure packages from the program, which was created after state Rep. Jason Ortitay authored what would later become Act 47 of 2025.
“This is the day I’ve been working toward,” Ortitay said in a statement. “Learning to read is the foundation for everything that comes after it. Every class, every job, every opportunity starts there. When a child can’t read, every door gets harder to open. These grants put real tools in the hands of the teachers who need them and that is going to change lives.”
Chartiers-Houston received about $230,000 in funding, with Fort Cherry receiving around $180,000.
These disbursements are among $10 million in total awards made to 54 schools across 21 Pennsylvania counties in this round of funding, according to a release.
Funding from the program can be used to screen students to ensure they are meeting literacy development milestones; train teachers in research-based pedagogical methods; replace out-of-date classroom materials; enable targeted literacy coaching for teachers; and deliver intervention support to struggling students.
According to Ortitay, only about one-third of fourth-grade students can read at their respective grade level in Pennsylvania, which is due to a lack of research-backed literacy instructional methods in the classroom, not that the students themselves are incapable of learning.
He said that through this program, teachers will have access to better tools and training that they have requested for years.
“I’m proud Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry are at the front of the line,” Ortitay said. “Their students will be some of the first in Pennsylvania to see the difference. This is only the first round, and I’m going to keep fighting until every child in this state gets the chance to become a confident reader.”