Lincoln Elementary School receives literacy grant

NEW LONDON – Lincoln Elementary School in the New London School District has been awarded a grant that will provide funding for the school to hire a half-time literacy instructional coach to work with Lincoln Elementary School teachers for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.
Tamela McCartney, director of teaching and learning for the New London School District, informed the New London Board of Education about the awarding of the grant when the board met May 13.
McCartney told the board that she worked with the staff of Lincoln Elementary School in January to apply for the grant through the Wisconsin Early Literacy Coaching Program. This grant would grant the school with an instructional coach around literacy. She said in early May, she was informed that Lincoln Elementary School was awarded the grant for a half-time literacy coach.
“For the next two years, we have the opportunity, with no cost to the district, to bring in someone whose entire job is to work with our teachers and their practices around literacy in order to keep improving the literacy practices and literacy outcomes for Lincoln Elementary,” McCartney said.
She added that this will be a “really good opportunity” for Lincoln Elementary School.

“It’s my goal that we take some of those practices and some of the coaching that we’re doing there and we are able to build our literacy program in other buildings also,” McCartney said.
Background
According to the Topic Summary Sheet (TSS) in the board packet, the grant program was established by state statute and is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI). It is designed to support schools in improving reading outcomes for students in 5K-3rd grade.
Only 36 public schools and four private schools will receive funding for literacy coaches over the next two years.
“Through a competitive application process led by the DPI, schools were selected in accordance with state statute,” it was stated in the TSS. “Selections were based on a balanced set of factors, including early literacy needs (measured by third grade reading results on the Forward Exam), geographic distribution, and each school’s existing (or demonstrated commitment to building) systems needed to support a coach’s success.”