Welcome to New Jersey's Reading First. Please use the menu at the left in order to seek news about this exciting program in New Jersey as well as to find essential program support and information for the classroom and professional development.

Reading First New Jersey - Professional Development Video-based Reading Strategies and Techniques
NEW! Training manuals for several of our professional development modules now available online! Look for the link entitled: Manual to Support Turnkey Training on our video module sites. This includes a PowerPoint presentation as well as handouts and facilitator’s notes to support professional development.

The Reading First initiative guides efforts to integrate scientifically-based reading research into the framework of every school.

Through the use of research-based instructional and assessment practices and aligned reading materials and programs that include explicit and systematic instruction in the six essential components of reading, teachers and schools are better prepared to meet the needs of all students.

Sustained professional development and support aligned with research-based practices and grounded in adult learning theory, enables teachers and instructional leaders to provide appropriate and effective instruction and to determine the need for more intensive intervention.

Ultimately, the goal of this initiative is to improve each child's capacity to become a successful reader. The Reading First program is a major part of New Jersey's comprehensive approach to improving early literacy. It is an important component of the state's comprehensive standards-based system of school reform.