THE RAATZ ROUNDUP
Submitted for use on July 29, 2025
Word Count: 315
Indiana recently received a tremendous honor for our work supporting our students and schools. The state was awarded the 2025 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation by the Education Commission of the States in recognition of the significant work we have done to increase our literacy rates and developing the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard.
ECS pointed to Indiana's adoption of the Science of Reading curriculum to help improve our literacy rates as one of the reasons we received the award. This curriculum teaches reading based on scientific research that shows how students learn to read most effectively. I sponsored the new law in 2023 that required the adoption of Science of Reading so we can better support our students and the challenges they may encounter when learning to read.
Thanks to the hard work of our educators and the implementation of the Science of Reading, Indiana jumped to sixth in the nation in 2024 in both fourth and eighth grade reading, a significant increase from 19th and 17th, respectively, in the years prior.
Our creation of the GPS dashboard was also a key reason Indiana received the Frank Newman Award.
In 2021, I sponsored a law requiring the creation of the GPS Dashboard. This user-friendly dashboard compiles data on school performance and progress so families and stakeholders can easily see how their schools are doing.
Receiving this award shows that our work in student literacy and providing tangible data on school progress to families is garnering national attention.
While it is great for our state to receive this award, there is still work to be done. We will continue to strive to ensure our students are receiving the best education possible.
Constituents can reach out to me with any questions or concerns they may have by filling out a "Contact Me" form on the IndianaSenateRepublicans.com/Raatz website or by calling my office at 800-382-9467.
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State Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) represents Senate District 27, which includes
Henry, Union and Wayne counties, and portions of Franklin County.
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