Governor Ridge has got some high hopes. He wants the state to allocate $100 million over the next four years for schools to try to ensure that all students can read at that grade level before they leave third grade.

If re-elected, Ridge told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he will ask the Legislature in February to allocate $25 million a year for four years for school districts to address reading problems. His proposal asks for local districts to front $1 for ever $2 of state funding.

School districts that apply would have to involve parents, measure the effectiveness of the program, help students who are at risk of failing to read in the first grade, provide additional instructional time for students who fail to make reading progress, provide in-service training in reading instruction and coordinate referrals to family literacy programs.

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