(05/31/2024) Monroe Elementary School - Mathematics, Science and Children’s Engineering welcomed leaders from ServeMinnesota, SPS Commerce and the Minnesota Department of Education to announce a major investment from the SPS Foundation that will help rapidly scale Bridge2Read (B2R), a science of reading-based approach in elementary schools across the state. 

Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett attended and provided remarks as ServeMinnesota announced an investment of $2.5 million over the next three years to allow B2R to train more than 500 teachers, reaching approximately 14,000 students statewide.

Monroe was one of 12 schools in Anoka-Hennepin to pilot the B2R literacy instruction program, which is now being used in all 25 elementary schools in the district.

B2R is an initiative that has grown from the success of Reading Corps, an AmeriCorps literacy tutoring program, partnerships with school leaders and the Minnesota Department of Education. It is a free resource designed by ServeMinnesota for teachers to provide daily science-based instruction to K-3 students and helps all students in a classroom build foundational literacy skills.

During the event at Monroe, visitors and state leaders toured first grade classrooms to see students receiving B2R literacy instruction. Learn more in this story by CCX News and view photos from the event.