Milan Special School District recognized as Reading 360 Model District

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Milan Special School District is among four other schools recognized as Reading 360 Model Districts.

The Tennessee Department of Education says the schools have shown promising early literacy work.

“Early literacy is the foundation for a student’s educational journey. We are incredibly proud of these five Reading 360 Model Districts for their exceptional work to utilize this free supplement to help their students build strong reading skills and develop literacy proficiency as early as possible,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “This supplement builds upon the critical work already happening across the state around literacy and the Reading 360 initiative and we are thankful for our district and school leaders and education stakeholders for embracing this moment to push our students forward and improve literacy rates.”

Jonathan Criswell, the Director of Schools for the Milan Special School District, says it is an honor to receive the title.

“Milan Special School District is excited to be named a Tennessee Model Foundational Skills Implementation District,” Criswell said. “We are honored that our work over the past few years in foundational reading skills has been recognized by the state. With the implementation of the Tennessee Foundational Skills Curriculum, we are confident that our youngest learners will receive a more in-depth grasp of the foundational literacy skills needed to ensure all of our students have the ability to be on-grade-level readers. We want the work that we have done and are currently doing shared with our peers across the state so Tennessee can continue to be the fastest-improving state in the nation. We believe that together we can succeed in this important work.”

The districts will each receive a $300,00 grant to continue to literacy education, and will serve as models for other school systems through videos and more.

“Establishing strong foundational reading skills early on in a child’s education journey is critical to their future success,” said State Senator John Stevens. “I am very pleased that Milan Special School District has implemented the curriculum to teach these skills well. This grant is well-deserved, and I am glad other school districts will be able to learn from this success.”

The other districts include Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Jackson County Schools, Lebanon Special School District, and Williamson County Schools.

You can read the full news release from the Tennessee Department of Education here.

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