San Saba Independent School District has been awarded the Texas Literacy Initiative Grant from the Texas Education Agency to improve school readiness and success in the areas of language and literacy. SSISD was one of 30 districts in the state to be awarded the grant statewide. The initial award is for $259,600 with an eligibility to receive three additional years of funding.The objectives of the Texas Literacy Grant include: increase the oral language and pre-literacy skills of participating preschool children; increase the performance of participating students in K-2 on early reading assessments; increase the percentage of participating students who meet or exceed proficiency on the State English Language Arts assessments in grades 3-12; increase the use of data and data analysis to inform all decision-making in participating districts, campuses, classrooms, and early learning settings; and increase the implementation of effective literacy instruction through Literacy Lines. Some of the activities funded by the grant to meet the grant objectives will be the incorporation of handheld technology for San Saba Elementary school, extensive training for staff including dyslexia training for teachers, implementation of the AVID program at high school and late middle school, development of English Language skills for our parents wanting to learn and improve their English skills to name a few items. The use of the funds is very explicit: 16% to be spent on children ages 0 to school entry, 42% on grades K-5; and 42% on grades 6-12. San Saba ISD will partner with the University of Texas, the local Head Start Program, and the Education Service Center Region XV to ensure the successfully implementation of this very important grant. This is the first grant received by the District that will make an impact on all grade levels including early childhood students not yet enrolled in the ISD.