With support from Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Education continues to expand professional learning and literacy resources for educators and students across the state.
The Department has announced it will provide an additional 50,000 seats for Reading Assistant to further support English Learners and students in Tier II and Tier III. Governor Reynolds has also invested $2.5 million to continue Reading Assistant, featuring Amira, with expanded access to Tier I students in both public and accredited nonpublic schools. The expansion ensures that more Iowa students will benefit from high-quality literacy tools designed to strengthen reading skills.
Districts will have access to the licenses through December 2026. Beyond 2026, the Department will maintain Reading Assistant access for English Learners and Tier II and Tier III students in districts currently using the program. Schools using Reading Assistant for Tier I students will be offered the option to extend access at a discounted rate.
Reading Assistant provides Iowa elementary schools with a personalized reading tutor to accelerate reading skills, phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, vocabulary and comprehension. Last year, an estimated 105,000 students in nearly 250 school districts used the Reading Assistant tool. Students read 960,000 stories and close to 4 million minutes total.
Schools interested in participating in Reading Assistant can sign up on the Department’s EPS Learning webpage.
Specific questions on Reading Assistant can be directed to April Gosselink-Lemke, literacy education program consultant, at april.gosselink-lemke@iowa.gov.