NC State College of Education’s Wolfpack WORKS (Ways to Optimize Reading/Writing for Kids Statewide) literacy initiative received over $12 million in a three-year grant from the NC Department of Public Instruction.

In 2018, North Carolina state superintendent Mark Johnson announced the NC Read to Achieve Program along with Wolfpack WORKS to help K-12 teachers improve the literacy of young children, according to College of Education News. The initiative encompasses professional development, literacy-specific coaching and resources that support K-12 teachers in the state.

The principal and co-principal investigators select literacy coaches that provide support to first- and second-year teachers. Twenty literacy coaches are currently employed that support the beginning teachers by finding ways to implement the various literacy programs required by the state.

According to the College of Education, the grant will help support third-year K-12 teachers in their partner school districts and increase the number of teachers that would be supported to over 240, therefore hiring more coaches. 

There are also plans to evaluate the impact of the program on literacy knowledge and assess students reading achievement both short and long-term.