Soar! Elevating literacy across wyoming

The Wyoming Department of Education received a $4.89 million Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education under the Comprehensive Literacy Development program (CFDA 84.371) on October 1, 2025, with a project completion date of September 30, 2026. This state-level comprehensive literacy initiative advances reading and writing skills for students from birth through grade 12, with emphasis on disadvantaged populations including English learners and students with disabilities. The program funds evidence-based literacy instruction and intervention through teacher coaching, professional learning, assessment systems, biliteracy support, partnerships with higher education, and instructional practices aligned with reading science research.

The SOAR! initiative distributes funding to multiple school districts across Wyoming, including sub-awards to Fremont County School Districts 21 and 25, Platte County School District 1, Laramie County School District 1, Fremont County School District 14, and Carbon County School District 1. These sub-grantees, which collectively serve significant populations of Native American students and economically disadvantaged communities, utilize the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant funding to implement targeted literacy interventions and support comprehensive educational services aligned with the program's evidence-based literacy framework. The multi-district approach enables Wyoming to advance literacy outcomes statewide while addressing regional and population-specific literacy gaps.