In 1997, 1 in 3 Alabama public school students in grades 3-8 could not read on grade level. This is a devastating number when you think of the impact on the life of a young person. Statistics tell us that the vast majority of the prison population cannot read. 80% of students referred to special education simply cannot read. As a solution to this growing struggle, in 1998 the Alabama Reading Initiative was started with the help of private and public sector partners. Alabama's reading initiative is a project of the Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama Department of Education.  After the Alabama Reading Initiative demonstrated promise in classrooms across the state, a statewide expansion was proposed. This statewide movement is anchored by scientifically based reading research and its aim is achieving, at a minimum, grade-level reading for all of Alabama's public school students. 

The initiative is targeted on three fronts:

1) Strengthening reading instruction in the early grades; 2) continuously expanding all students' reading power and comprehension levels; 3) and intervening effectively with struggling readers.

Through intensive teacher development efforts that are the heart and soul of the initiative, educators across the state learn how to use student assessment data to identify areas where students can improve and how to adjust instruction according to student needs. They are equipped to apply researched-based strategies that will result in increased student achievement. Dollar for dollar, research shows that investment in teacher professional development increases student achievement more than anything else. Good teaching matters most when it comes to improving education. Since its inception in 1998 the Alabama Reading Initiative has grown from16 schools to 752 schools and has been recognized by several national organizations. Funding for the reading initiative has grown from 1,500,000 in 1998 to 56, 000,000 in 2005 due, in large part, to the leadership of Governor Bob Riley and the Alabama Legislature. In FY 2006, ARI received a $56 million appropriation from Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Legislature.  Of that $56 million, $53.5 million was immediately put back into services for ARI schools: 

1) 650 reading coaches in K-3 schools

2) Monthly training for all reading coaches provided in a school setting by experienced training coaches in the area

3) Job-embedded professional development for principals and teachers in ARI schools

4) Regional staff (principal coaches and reading coach trainers) to support all 752 ARI schools

5) After school and summer school programs provided to the lowest performing ARI schools

6) Initial training for the remaining non-ARI K-3 schools (149 in Summer 2006)