Indiana Wins Nearly $10M Federal Grant With Notre Dame to Expand Literacy Tutoring Statewide
Indiana is getting a major boost in its effort to improve early reading skills. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announced it has been awarded nearly $10 million through a federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant, secured in partnership with the University of Notre Dame and education research organization WestEd.
The announcement was made during a State Board of Education meeting. State leaders said the funding is part of a nationwide push to improve literacy outcomes, and Indiana is among a small group selected for this year’s award. In fact, Indiana is one of only 10 states receiving an EIR grant this year, positioning the state as an example of literacy work that can be scaled and measured.
Governor Mike Braun praised the grant as an important win for students, saying the partnership between the state, universities, and local community groups can help ensure children across Indiana develop strong literacy skills early, which he called essential for lifelong success.
What the grant will fund
The core goal of the new grant is to expand high-impact tutoring across Indiana, with a strong focus on literacy instruction based on the science of reading. This is not a general tutoring initiative. It is specifically designed to support reading development using proven, research-backed strategies that match how children learn to read best.
Indiana’s proposal is built around scaling a tutoring system already tested through Notre Dame’s Tutor-ND model. Tutor-ND has been described as a way to increase access to strong tutoring by training and supporting the adults who work closely with students. It also focuses on building capacity inside schools and local organizations so the work continues long after the initial launch.
Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner said the state’s progress in literacy depends on getting multiple partners involved and using solutions that are targeted and practical. She said the grant will help Indiana speed up student learning through tutoring, strengthen its science of reading work, and support educators and students across all 92 counties.
How it will work statewide
According to updates shared during the State Board meeting, Notre Dame and Tutor-ND will serve as the primary coordination hub, but the plan is bigger than one campus or one city. The model will be expanded by recruiting and supporting additional universities across the state, allowing regions to run similar tutoring systems locally while staying aligned to the same evidence-based approach.
The goal is to push this support deeper into rural and underserved communities, helping more students who currently have fewer literacy resources.
Proven groundwork already exists
Tutor-ND began in the South Bend Community School Corporation during the 2021–2022 school year. State officials said the program has already shown strong momentum, including a significant increase in IREAD pass rates in South Bend, which helped support the case for Indiana receiving this federal funding.
WestEd will evaluate results
A key part of the grant includes accountability. WestEd will serve as the independent evaluator, tracking the program’s impact and supporting adjustments to help it scale effectively across Indiana.
Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. also emphasized the university’s commitment to strengthening education through partnerships and evidence-based practice, saying the funding will help extend this tutoring support to more Indiana schools.
Bottom line: Indiana is using this nearly $10 million federal grant to expand structured, research-driven tutoring statewide, with Notre Dame coordinating the model and WestEd measuring outcomes. The target is clear: stronger reading skills early, in every part of the state.