Comprehensive Literacy State Development Program
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is one of 11 states to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for its Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) program. The $18 million grant will be distributed over five years, allowing the state to advance literacy skills for children from birth through grade 12.
The Missouri CLSD program was designed to complement DESE’s commitment to literacy for students under the agency’s Show-Me Success plan. The goal of the project is to support educators’ working knowledge of evidence-based literacy strategies to effectively teach reading and writing to all students. This includes providing professional development to pre-service teachers in institutions of higher education, early childhood education teachers and K-12 educators to enable them to provide effective instruction. This grant will support local education agencies with developing evidence-based literacy plans to implement in their schools and provide support for families. You can view the content of Missouri’s grant proposal in the project narrative. Learn more about the U.S. Department of Education’s CLSD program.
This page will be updated as DESE moves forward with each stage of implementation. Please mail questions to Literacy@dese.mo.gov.
The Comprehensive Literacy State Development program receives 100 percent of its funding through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. For Federal Fiscal Year 2021, the total amount of grant funds awarded was $4,036,529.10.