East Longmeadow School Committee unanimously accepts $98,323 literacy coaching grant

EAST LONGMEADOW -- June 15, 2026, East Longmeadow School Committee accepts $98,323 literacy grant and advances $150,000 bleacher project. The committee voted unanimously at its June 15 meeting to accept a Davis Foundation grant of $98,323.50, administered by Hill for Literacy, to fund structured-literacy coaching for kindergarten through second-grade teachers at Meadowbrook Elementary during the 2026-27 school year. Superintendent Gordon Smith and Assistant Superintendent Heather Brown also briefed the committee on a $150,000 state grant, secured through Senator Oliveira's office, for a visitor-side bleacher replacement at the high school athletic complex, with an informal estimate of roughly $161,000 for the preferred option and a recommendation to use up to $140,000 in available school-choice reserves as a backstop; no vote was taken and Brown said she would return with a formal update at the August 17 meeting. End-of-year academic data showed all three iReady schools landing in the high-performance, high-growth quadrant, though Birchland Park fell short of its 68 percent reading typical-growth target in year one of a new curriculum. Brown disclosed she had applied for a $50,000 attorney general's grant to purchase locking phone pouches for grades six through 12 in anticipation of a state cell-phone ban, with a possible January rollout after a November professional-development day.