Grand Challenges: Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity

Fewer than 1 in 3 Maryland students could read at grade level coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers of the Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity (MILE) have been working to reverse this deficit and put students in the state back on the path to reading success.

Funded in 2023 by the University of Maryland’s Grand Challenges Grants Program, the MILE team conducted a comprehensive review of literacy instruction in all 24 Maryland public school districts, and then has been collaborating with educators and families around the state to implement its recommendations to help every student read and write proficiently.

Learn about one of 50 projects that make up the $30 million Grand Challenges Grant Program, dedicated to advancing solutions to humanity’s most pressing issues through education, research, scholarship, creative activities and service.