Jan. 18—It was 8:30 a.m. on a Thursday in Miss Katie’s second grade class and the kids were on a treasure hunt for silent letters.

Teacher Katie Wiederholt — Miss Katie — used hand and finger signals to break some of the words apart, sounding out each individual letter to connect the dots between sounds and letters. The kids mirrored their mentor’s actions and repeated the words, striving for perfect pronunciations.

Welcome to the world of structured literacy, in which students learn the science and sounds behind reading and teachers look for ways to ensure students not only know how to spell and read but understand what they are spelling and reading.

Later Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held a news conference at the state Capitol to announce her plan to create a statewide structured literacy institute.

The governor is proposing about $60 million in recurring funds for the institute and another $30 million in one-time funds, which would be spent creating an institute to train both teachers and students in structured literacy.

More money would go to a number of other literacy programs, including $11.5 million for pre-K facilities and $9.7 million to support 26 state programs in literacy and English language learning programs at the college level. The goal would be to reach 10,000 of the neediest students with reading intervention programming starting in the summer of 2024, the governor said.

For years, low reading scores have cast a dark shadow over the state’s public education system as teachers, reading advocates, parents and students all struggle with the ABCs of teaching and learning reading.

The state Public Education Department began training in structured literacy for all elementary school teachers a few years ago. Lujan Grisham and Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, noted during Thursday’s news conference that reading test scores have gone up in the past year as a result of the initiative.

In November the Public Education Department announced 38% of New Mexico students are proficient in English Language Arts, up 4% from the year before.

Lujan Grisham announced in September her plans to request $30 million to start the structured literacy institute. Her budget recommendation and the Legislative Education Study Committee’s budget proposal both include the $30 million, while the Legislative Finance Committee’s proposal includes $3 million for the institute.

But sending a signal the initiative is supported by a number of leading state lawmakers, Sen. George Muñoz, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, led a delegation of senators from both parties to the news conference to say they are behind the governor’s proposal.

“We believe in this,” said Muñoz, D-Gallup. “We’re on board with this.”

So is Amy Biehl Community School, on Santa Fe’s south side, where Wiederholt works.

“Literacy — it’s the whole picture,” she said during a brief snack break in her class. “Reading, writing, oral language — you’ve got to navigate all three to be truly successful as a reader.”

The school’s principal Felicia Torres said the literacy initiative, which the district started several years ago, pays off. Midyear reading score data released in December showed a 48% growth in reading proficiency rates for the entire school, she said.

“I do see it working in our school,” she said in an interview.

Wiederholt said any more resources from the state, including more teachers trained in structured reading, will help. She said this approach can help young students get an early, confident grip on reading so there is less chance they fall behind. Once that happens, she said “it always get harder” to help them catch up.

Lujan Grisham was not clear on where the main anchor of the proposed institute would be located, assuming it finds its way into the final budget. But she did say the building itself is not what’s important, but rather the training that would go on in and around it.

“It’s not just a building. … It’s much, much more. It’s a foundation for success,” she said.