OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente announced Wednesday the state has made $5 million in grant funding available to help train teachers in early care and education programs. 

DeWine said the funds aim to improve how teachers can strengthen children's literacy skills at an early age.

“Decades of research shows us that this method is the best way young brains learn how to read, and we know that the earlier a child can read well, the more success they will have in school and throughout life,” said DeWine. “By providing Science of Reading training for those who teach and care for our young children, we will be empowering these educators to lay the groundwork for more of our kids to reach their full potential.”

The funding will go toward eligible child care centers, family child care homes and school-age programs. Teachers will complete at least 10 hours of Science of Reading training through the Department of Children and Youth. The department will reach out directly to centers and programs with instructions on how to apply if they're eligible. 

“The Science of Reading emphasizes teaching the basic building blocks of language, like phonics, to help children become confident readers,” said Wente. “Through this grant funding, we will be able to support more of our early care and education programs in using this proven method to make our kids better readers and better learners, ultimately helping them to achieve their dreams.”

The grants are supported by federal funding from the Preschool Development Birth through Five Grant and the Child Care and Development Fund. This is the first year that funds will be geared toward incentivizing early care and education programs for training for teachers, DeWine said. 

More information can be found here.